July 11, 2024
Kingaroy homeowners face a 3.89 per cent rise in their total rates bill – about $140 per annum – not the $370 we reported on Wednesday.
southburnett.com.au made our initial calculation based on the rates bill of a typical three-bedroom house in Kingaroy.
We took the South Burnett Regional Council Budget announcement of a 2 per cent increase in the general rate and added the previously announced percentage increases to sewerage, water and waste collection charges.
Kingaroy was selected because it is the South Burnett’s largest residential area and has the highest land valuations for town blocks.
However, we were not aware – and Council had not stated – that it varies the rate-in-the-dollar charge across individual property valuations – to smooth over the effect of land valuations.
This rate-in-the-dollar charge varies across the region, depending on the property location and its rating category.
Using the same property parameters we used, Council forecast that an average residential property in Kingaroy would face a total 3.89 per cent increase.
This is about $3 a week – not the $7 a week we stated – but it is still greater than the 2 per cent rise that councillors headlined at the Budget meeting.
Rural Residential properties in the Kingaroy area would face a 2.49 per cent increase and rural properties a 3.17 per cent increase.
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Council’s Projected Kingaroy Rates Rises For 2023-24
A table supplied to southburnett.com.au by Council on Thursday:
Footnote: southburnett.com.au apologises to our readers for the earlier miscalculation.
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Concerned About Your Bill?
Readers concerned about this year’s rates bill have been advised to take advantage of Council’s prompt payment discount and – if a pensioner – the pensioner rebates available as well.
The 2024-25 Budget maintains concessions for eligible pensioners, including Council’s subsidy of 20 per cent of eligible rates and charges (maximum $200 per annum) matching the State Government’s 20 per cent subsidy (maximum $200 per annum).
A concession of 50 per cent for waste recycling and dog registrations for eligible pensioners will also be allowed.
To qualify for the Pensioner Concessions, a customer must be the holder of a current Centrelink Queensland Pensioner Concession Card or a Veteran’s’ Affairs Gold Card and the property they are claiming on must be their principal place of residence.
For new applications, Council can only apply the subsidy to the current six-monthly rating period. No backdating of the pensioner subsidy has been authorised by the State Government.
Application forms for the rebate must be lodged by June 30 each year.
These forms are available from Council’s Customer Service Centres or may be downloaded from Council’s website.
Council will continue to offer a 10 per cent discount on rates paid within a month of their issue date.
Many other Councils have either reduced their early payment discount to 5 per cent or discontinued it completely.
Council will also maintain a 60-day extension for late payers from the day rates notices are issued before it begins charging interest on overdue rates.
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It is difficult to follow but more explanation is the fact that water and waste are separate sections and fund themselves. Costs are impacted by inflation and added factors such as ageing infrastructure which need to be constantly repaired and updated. Waste is also subject to government levies and conditions which must be adhered to.
Council have had to make some big changes at great expense to comply. The General Rate increase was 2 per cent and this was made possible by managers cutting costs as far as possible without losing services. A great contribution by staff.
We pay our rates, the roads are rubbish and the town water undrinkable. The only thing that has improved is our parks are being maintained better than the last council.
I think the people responsible for the maintenance of roads need an appointment at an optometrist. They bring all the machines, close off the roads for weeks (eg. Coolabunia) and 200 metres down the road there are pot holes. We now say we are going to ‘bounce’ to Kingaroy, rather than drive!
Anne, if you are referring to the D’Aguilar Highway, that is a State highway, with repairs and upgrades organised by the State Government.