{"id":257435,"date":"2020-04-29T19:50:59","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T09:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=257435"},"modified":"2020-04-29T20:01:52","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T10:01:52","slug":"fees-and-charges-frozen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/04\/29\/fees-and-charges-frozen\/","title":{"rendered":"Fees And Charges Frozen"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 29, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett councillors voted unanimously on Wednesday to freeze Council’s schedule of fees and charges for at least six months.<\/p>\n

The meeting was told Council usually increased the Fees and Charges Schedule by roughly 2 per cent every year to take account of inflation.<\/p>\n

The schedule is based on recovering the cost of Council services.<\/p>\n

It is generally released several weeks before the annual Budget to allow Council’s IT systems to be upgraded with the new charges, which usually come into effect from July 1.<\/p>\n

Councillors were due to approve the Schedule for 2020-21 at Wednesday’s meeting.<\/p>\n

However – as a COVID-19 relief measure – officers suggested a six-month freeze on any increase, a move that will cost the Council an estimated $76,000 in lost revenue.<\/p>\n

Councillors agreed, and the decision will be reviewed in six months.<\/p>\n

Mayor Otto clarified that this vote covered fees and charges only.<\/p>\n