Yass Valley Business Chamber says a proposed rate increase is being considered at a time when many businesses are already struggling. Photo: Yass Valley Council.
A Capital Country business chamber says its council should make sure its spending is being done “efficiently and effectively” before it locks in plans for a major rate rise.
At an extraordinary meeting in November, Yass Valley Council (YVC) discussed proposals that would see rates hiked by between 40 and 58.70 per cent, and planned community engagement, in light of the council’s financial situation.
YVC is facing a $4.5 million deficit and an unrestricted cash balance of only $55,000, according to its 2023–24 financial statements.
Meeting documents from the time state that if a rate hike isn’t adopted, the council will need to reduce its spending by more than $3 million each year.
Councillor Alvaro Charry won support for his proposal, which saw the council decide to put off a decision until early next year and investigate alternative ways it could save money in the meantime.
Yass Valley Business Chamber president Jack Walker said that while the council had done some of that work already, he called on it to go further.
“We strongly support, and our businesses strongly supported, deferring the process,” he told Region.
“What we’ve called upon the council to do is to utilise all of the internal and external levers that it has – and as part of that, we believe that it needs to be pulling more of the external levers, which includes generating economic activity and sustainably growing their rate base.”
The council’s initial plan would have put the “burden” of consultation at a time of year when farmers are dealing with the harvest and families are celebrating the end of the year, he said.
Instead, Mr Walker described the deferral as a better approach, one that gave more room for consultation.
This also allowed the council to make sure their spending was done “efficiently and effectively” before a rate rise was sought.
“What council needs to be doing is pulling those levers and supporting economic development within Yass Valley … [We need to see] the positive effects of those levers being pulled so they can come to fruition.”
YVBC is calling on the council to make development approvals more efficient, develop a current economic development strategy and take expected population growth (such as subdivisions in Yass and the Parkwood suburb) into account in its financial modelling.
Mr Walker also pointed to the chamber’s submission during consultation on the Financial Sustainability Roadmap, in which it called for an increased focus on economic growth that balanced service reform, strategic land use and increased business confidence (rather than only relying on a rate rise) to increase the council’s financial position.
He is also concerned a rate rise would have long-term effects for the region’s economy.
“The risk of a rate rise would make Yass less competitive from an affordability perspective,” he said.
“People may decide to move into another LGA [local government area] over Yass Valley, to invest in another LGA … That’s the risk that we think council needs to consider and manage.”
The deferral means councillors are expected to reconsider the issue in March.
Ahead of a decision, Mr Walker believes YVC should be proactively working to reduce “the plethora red [and] green tape” handed down from State and Federal governments and stop “inflaming the inflationary cycle”.
“The business community and ratepayers want to see council stimulating sustainable economic development and prosperity across the LGA,” he said.
“We want to see council doing its job and ultimately, like any shareholder, we want to see returns in the form of reductions of rates, not increases.”
Mr Walker said the chamber would be closely following the matter.
“A rate rise should be a measure of last resort,” he said.
For the increase to go ahead, YVC would need to make a formal application to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.
