Outcome from Special Council Meeting

Advertising of the proposed differential rates for 2023/2024 took place within The West Australian newspaper and was programmed for 1 May 2023 and the Sound Telegraph newspaper on 3 May 2023, with a copy of the public notice also available on the City’s website. The City also used social media and the engagement platform Love My Kwinana to inform the community of the Council’s intention to levy differential rates. Ratepayers within the General Industry rate category were also written to separately regarding the proposed differential rates for their properties. The notice called for submissions to the proposal, with a closing date of 23 May 2023

Copies of the public notice and Statement of Objects and Reasons were made available for public inspection at the City’s Administration Building, Darius Wells Library and Knowledge Centre and on the City’s website. Landowners within the General Industry (UV) rate category were also written to regarding the proposed differential rate for their properties. At the expiration of the statutory advertising period, six submissions had been received.

All submissions were received via the Love My Kwinana engagement platform. The platform recorded 211 page visits, with 34 opening information contained on the page. Six of the visitors decided to make a comment on the proposed rates.

Submissions

In summary, items raised by ratepayers as concerning them were:

· the proposed increases are more than CPI and will add financial pressures to households when they are already facing an increased cost of living;

· lack of services provided by Council;

After Council advertised its intentions to levy differential rates, local governments became aware of Western Power’s intentions to increase street-lighting tariffs by 44%, subject to endorsement by the Economic Regulatory Authority (ERA). This increase was later revised to 7.5% with the ERA’s endorsement. This 7.5% increase for the City of Kwinana amounts to an additional $105,000 cost within the City’s budget. As the media reported accurately, to account for this additional cost, Council must either consider reducing services or increase rates. Due to the City already running services very efficiently, in response to general budget pressures and the impact of Covid over the last three years, there is no further opportunity to accommodate cost shifts through savings, and an increase over the advertised proposed rate is required to cover the additional streetlight charges. An additional $105,000 equates to an additional 0.25% on the 3.95% increase advertised, therefore the Tables 4 and 5 below shows the applicable differential rates based on a 4.2% increase.

Adjusted Proposed Differential Rate in the Dollar and Minimum Payments for GRV Rating Categories

Adjusted Proposed Differential Rate in the Dollar and Minimum Payments for UV Rating Categories

The City has responded to all of those who made a submission separately.

Full details of Council’s deliberations can be found within the 26 May 2023 Special Council Meeting on the City’s website:

https://www.kwinana.wa.gov.au/council/council-and-city-administration/minutes-agenda