By ANEEKA SIMONIS
COUNCIL rates will increase by 5.5 per cent under the newly approved 2015/16 Cardinia Shire budget.
The budget, described by some councillors as “responsible” and “balanced” was ripped into by Councillor Collin Ross who labelled it “excessive, unjust and unaffordable”.
“Single mother, pensioners, self-funded retirees, first home buyers and working families are all expected to have their own money trees to pay for these increases,” Cr Ross said before the budget was approved at a council meeting on Monday 15 June.
“One might call this a rate explosion; others might call this a freight train out of control.”
Budget documents indicate the council will rake in more than $72 million in ratepayer funds as part of the rate bump.
Of the total amount, more than $30 million will be allocated to the capital works program to build infrastructure for the growing shire community.
Cr Jodie Owen, who voted to adopt the budget, said the investment was essential to keep up with the demands of the fast-developing community.
“If we don’t get the building right now, we will behind the eight ball and will never catch up and we won’t live in a community we will be proud to live in,” she said.
According to the council, an average of four families is moving into the area each day.
But the rate rise did not receive a positive rap from the ratepayers.
“The rates are already among the highest in the state. I have enough trouble paying them as it is,” wrote local resident Annie on the Pakenham Gazette Facebook page.
She is not the only one feeling the pinch across the shire.
According to credit agency VEDA, Cardinia Shire residents experience the highest level of financial stress and debt across the state’s nine interface councils.
Pakenham is among the 35 per cent most disadvantaged communities in Victoria.
Cr Tania Baxter joined Cr Ross in voting against the rate increase, citing concerns with council’s significant investment in recreational reserves located close to one another.
“I am torn between the need for facilities and the effect rate increases have on residents,” she said.
She said she struggled to understand the council’s $1 million investment in Heatherbrae Recreational Reserve in Officer, directly opposite Officer Recreational Reserve which had also received a significant sum of council funding.
“I have identified two million in rates alone that could be saved,” she said.
But Cr Brett Owen defended the infrastructure investment.
“The council is under a lot of pressure in relation to infrastructure … every single item in this budget is needed and has been advocated for my residents for a long time,” he said.
The council received a number of petitions urging for the decrease of rate payments required from retirement village residents.
According to the council, revenue collected from retirement village ratepayers exceeds $710,000 annually.
Last week, the Pakenham Gazette reported elderly residents across Cardinia Shire take home around a third less than the state average, with those 65-69 years old earning an average of $361 per week compared to the Victorian earning average of $501 per week.
The council said it will consider reducing rates for people living in retirement villages in the 2016/17 budget.
