❓ Ms. Baker asks about the impact of a Bayswater and Bassendean amalgamation on rate charges, specifically whether Bayswater residents will pay more. The Minister acknowledges the issue and states the Local Government Advisory Board will investigate, aiming for a fair and equitable system, and anticipates cost savings from economies of scale.
AnsweredQoN 774Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AMALGAMATIONS — BAYSWATER AND BASSENDEAN —
RATING SYSTEM
774. Ms L.L. BAKER to the
Minister for Local Government:
The City of Bayswater and the Town of Bassendean use
different rates in the dollar to calculate household rate charges. Can the
minister tell my constituents living in Bayswater, who currently pay a lesser
rate, whether they will be charged more after an amalgamation with Bassendean
or whether Bassendean ratepayers will be charged less?
RATING SYSTEM
774. Ms L.L. BAKER to the
Minister for Local Government:
The City of Bayswater and the Town of Bassendean use
different rates in the dollar to calculate household rate charges. Can the
minister tell my constituents living in Bayswater, who currently pay a lesser
rate, whether they will be charged more after an amalgamation with Bassendean
or whether Bassendean ratepayers will be charged less?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. Working out the best
rating system has been a contentious issue in the reform process. For the
benefit of members, I will point out some facts about the current rating
system. Each year, councils go through a process of looking at a budget. They go
through their community forward planning and look at the projects they wish to
go on with in the next year. They adopt that budget and in that budget they
adopt a rate increase. That is how rates are worked out at the moment. The
whole council votes on a budget to put in a rate increase. Clearly, one of the
issues that all members in this chamber will have come across their desk is
that there is inequity in rating because each council does it differently. That
is one of the areas on which the Local Government Advisory Board will do some
work. From my perspective, the lowest rate can be no more than two times the
highest rate in the parameters under the act.
The member has raised the point of looking at the cents in
the dollar between two councils that come together whereby there is quite a
variation in difference. The Local Government Advisory Board will do some work
on that and come back to the two councils to work out how it can best get them
to work together. It is all about delivering services to ratepayers and how we
can come up with a model that, in bringing the two councils together, provides
a fair and equitable rating system across the new identity born. Keep in mind
that the new council will have to be elected, and one of the areas it will have
to address, as I said at the start, will be to set the rates as it tries to
work out the problem. The member for Maylands has raised a very good point.
Some work will need to be done by the Local Government Advisory Board to see
how we can fix the anomaly of one being higher than the other. To come back to
the original point, we are trying to build economies of scale. There are more
people in Bayswater than in Bassendean—there are over 80 000 people in
Bayswater and there are 25 000 people in Bassendean. That local government will
be increased by quite a large number. It will be a very good local government,
and the cost will come down in terms of the delivery of services, so there will
be a saving straightaway, from bin services, to mowing lawns, to all the other
services that it provides. So the rates will become comparative. I cannot give
the member a clear answer today, but I know that there will be better delivery
of services under the new identity as we move forward.
rating system has been a contentious issue in the reform process. For the
benefit of members, I will point out some facts about the current rating
system. Each year, councils go through a process of looking at a budget. They go
through their community forward planning and look at the projects they wish to
go on with in the next year. They adopt that budget and in that budget they
adopt a rate increase. That is how rates are worked out at the moment. The
whole council votes on a budget to put in a rate increase. Clearly, one of the
issues that all members in this chamber will have come across their desk is
that there is inequity in rating because each council does it differently. That
is one of the areas on which the Local Government Advisory Board will do some
work. From my perspective, the lowest rate can be no more than two times the
highest rate in the parameters under the act.
The member has raised the point of looking at the cents in
the dollar between two councils that come together whereby there is quite a
variation in difference. The Local Government Advisory Board will do some work
on that and come back to the two councils to work out how it can best get them
to work together. It is all about delivering services to ratepayers and how we
can come up with a model that, in bringing the two councils together, provides
a fair and equitable rating system across the new identity born. Keep in mind
that the new council will have to be elected, and one of the areas it will have
to address, as I said at the start, will be to set the rates as it tries to
work out the problem. The member for Maylands has raised a very good point.
Some work will need to be done by the Local Government Advisory Board to see
how we can fix the anomaly of one being higher than the other. To come back to
the original point, we are trying to build economies of scale. There are more
people in Bayswater than in Bassendean—there are over 80 000 people in
Bayswater and there are 25 000 people in Bassendean. That local government will
be increased by quite a large number. It will be a very good local government,
and the cost will come down in terms of the delivery of services, so there will
be a saving straightaway, from bin services, to mowing lawns, to all the other
services that it provides. So the rates will become comparative. I cannot give
the member a clear answer today, but I know that there will be better delivery
of services under the new identity as we move forward.
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