Armadale council is considering a 4.8 per cent rate rise, a comparatively modest increase against those proposed by other nearby local governments. The council endorsed the decision to advertise a 4.8 per cent increase to the public at its May 25 meeting, although some councillors said they could back a higher rise.
Comparison with Neighbouring Councils
The City of Canning has proposed a 5.75 per cent rates rise, Gosnells is considering a 5.5 per cent, Melville is advertising 5 per cent and Cockburn is advertising 6.75 per cent. These figures are all above Perth’s 4.9 per cent CPI inflation rate.
Armadale councillors foreshadowed both a lower 3 per cent increase and a higher 5.5 per cent increase during the debate, but an officer’s recommendation for 4.8 per cent passed with a small majority.
Councillor Views on the Increase
Councillor Kerry Busby said he supported the 4.8 per cent rate as a minimum increase. “It’s to keep our current services and costs as they are right now, which is important,” he said. “If we drop below 4.8 per cent now, we may have to go one day … 7 or 8 per cent just to catch up because we got behind. That’s not something I’m willing to put on any future resident of the City of Armadale.”
Cr Busby noted that most other local councils had flagged higher rate rises, and he wasn’t opposed to a 5.5 per cent rise. “Most councils to date have gone above the 4.8 per cent. There was only two at 4.5 and all the other councils looked like they were going to go anywhere between 5-something to 6.8 per cent,” he said.
Deputy mayor John Keogh foreshadowed a potential 5.5 per cent rise if councillors did not want a 4.8 per cent boost. “I believe we, as a council, would like to have as little an increase as possible, but just due to the nature of our global economy, we’re all interconnected and we are unfortunately suffering the consequences of many things that are completely outside of our control,” he said. “I think we probably should be entertaining the idea that we actually go above the 4.8 per cent.”
Cr Keogh said increased rates would cover the cost increases for goods such as oil, fertiliser and road construction materials. “If we were to then go lower than (4.8 per cent) then, of course, we’d have to be considering what (projects) we would postpone or cancel,” he said.
Last year, council supported a lower 3.6 per cent rates increase based on the predicted local government cost index, but the actual local government cost index ended up 0.2 per cent higher. Cr Keogh said this had put the city “a little bit behind”.
Alternative Perspectives
Cr Shanavas Peter did not support the officer’s recommendation, and suggested a minimal 3 per cent rates rise would reduce the financial pressure on ratepayers. “I am well aware we need to run the business, there is no question about that, but the main question is how the ratepayers are going to pay the 5 per cent increase,” he said. “I understand the CPI and LGCI are very high, but this is a time we need to support our residents.”
Cr Peter said the economic trends indicated CPI would decrease over time as fuel prices and housing pressures stabilised. “The two main factors affecting the CPI is going to be normalised now. So in this next year, the CPI will be between 3 or less than 3 per cent,” he said.
Mayor Ruth Butterfield said housing and interest rates didn’t “come into the equation” for setting rates, and going below 4.8 per cent could affect the city’s financial viability. “I would be very loathe to see us go any lower than 4.8 per cent, but (I understand) that our community are experiencing the same cost pressures that we are. I think that 4.8 per cent is as low as we can go, and I think it’s actually a decent compromise,” she said.
Community submissions are open until June 18 and final consideration of the rise is scheduled for the June 22 council meeting.
