{"id":182251,"date":"2017-06-26T12:55:53","date_gmt":"2017-06-26T02:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=182251"},"modified":"2020-09-11T11:40:44","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T01:40:44","slug":"south-burnett-rates-rise-2-5pc-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/06\/26\/south-burnett-rates-rise-2-5pc-2\/","title":{"rendered":"South Burnett Rates Rise 2.5pc"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Burnett Regional Council … from left, Cr Ros Heit, Mayor Keith Campbell, Cr Gavin Jones, Deputy Mayor Kathy Duff, Cr Danita Potter, Cr Roz Frohloff and Cr Terry Fleischfresser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 26, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett ratepayers will face an average 2.5 per cent rate rise after the South Burnett Regional Council handed down its 2017-18 Budget on Monday morning.<\/p>\n

The rise is identical to the 2.5 per cent rate rise handed down last year, which was the lowest increase since the 2008 council amalgamations.<\/p>\n

It marks the fourth year in a row the Council has handed down a near-CPI rate rise.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As expected, the $200-a-year Road Levy will stay in place.<\/p>\n

But it will not be indexed, which means the real cost of the levy to ratepayers has now declined by about 8 per cent since it was introduced in the 2013-14 Budget.<\/p>\n

Water, sewerage and waste collection charges will also rise by 2.5 per cent, but there will be no change to water consumption charges.<\/p>\n

The Environmental levy will increase by $1 to $29 per year; the Waste Management Levy will rise $3 to $128 per year; and domestic garbage collection charges will increase by $4 to $157 per year.<\/p>\n

However, the Community Rescue Evacuation Levy will remain at $4 per year, and the Rural Fire Levy will continue to be $25 per year.<\/p>\n

The region\u2019s $200-a-year pensioner discount will also stay in place.<\/p>\n

This Council rebate – along with a maximum $200 annual rebate from the State Government – should see pensioners be able to reduce their rate bills by $400 a year.<\/p>\n

The 10 per cent discount for settlement of rates by the due date will also remain.<\/p>\n

Mayor Keith Campbell said the net effect on an average residential rate bill of $2800 pa is that rates will rise by around $70 per year, or $1.40 per week.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The low rate rise has been made possible by efficiencies found within the Council’s operations, which include a reduction of between 10 and 13 administrative staff positions over the coming year.<\/p>\n

The Council anticipates finishing the current financial year with a $1 million surplus, slightly better than the $789,000 surplus it forecast 12 months ago.<\/p>\n

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A comparison of an average South Burnett 2016-17 residential rates bill with a 2017-18 one … this comparison does not include water usage charges<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Budget Highlights<\/strong><\/h2>\n