Jul 16 2023

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A fraying Council – but a strong community


Many residents will start getting their 23/24 rate notices in coming weeks and, yes, rates will increase by 2.8 percent.

This is .7 percent below the cap for Councils set by the State Government. The lower rate rise will reduce Port Phillip Council’s potential revenue by around $1 million now. But as Council officers indicated, this income loss will compound and have a permanent impact – it will reduce rate revenue by around $11m over the coming decade. This is because a .7 percent reduction now also reduces the pool of rates on which future rate increases can be based.

As the Essential Services Commission advised the State Government and local councils:

A rate cap that is lower than the CPI forecast may be beneficial for ratepayers in the short term. However, a lower rate cap could deepen financial sustainability issues for councils, which would ultimately be borne by ratepayers and the community in the long term.

As a result, ageing essential assets such as drains, footpaths, libraries, community centres and open spaces will continue to fray with increasing repair and upgrade bills for future ratepayers.

The fraying is happening already, with urgently needed refurbishment of the St Kilda Library deferred; some local shopping centres in sharp decline; footpath renewal and safety reduced; new bike paths put on hold; inadequate FOGO services for flats and apartments; green verges on major roads neglected and much more.

The reality is Liberal/RoPP Councillors are embarked on a long-term project to radically transform the shape and heart of Port Phillip.

They have two goals.

One is to reduce the ability of our Council to meet the social, environmental, housing and economic challenges ahead. So, they are targeting Council partnerships on social housing, climate action to protect our homes, arts programs for creativity and well-being, bike paths for the future, and more. Not to mention planning and delivering services that will be needed in the biggest urban redevelopment site in Australia at Fishermans Bend, which is largely in our municipality.

Their second goal is to reward some at the expense of the many. So, they are ignoring half of all households in Port Phillip – people who are renting, are poorer than most property owners and who are more likely to rely on Council’s community services.

We provide a detailed commentary on Council’s 20 June Budget Meeting below.


A chance for change


There is an opportunity to elect a truly progressive, innovative and responsive Council in October next year.

The first step will be a new electoral system re-instating single member wards to Port Phillip, intended to make local government more local.

A Victorian Electoral Commission panel is working on new ward boundaries and is inviting local residents to online forums on Monday 17 July and Tuesday 18 July. This is in advance of the preliminary models of ward boundaries that will be released for consultation on Wednesday 19 July with submissions closing on 9 August.

More details are here.

Council Budget Meeting – 20 June 2023


Despite sustained community efforts, Mayor Heather Cunsolo and Liberal/RoPP Councillors supported a 2.8 percent rate increase, rejecting arguments for a 3.5 percent increase allowed by the State Government.

This .7 percent loss to Council’s budget is now baked in for all time. Although it seems small, the longer-term impact will be considerable. This is because any future rate increase will start from a base .7 percent lower than it could be. Council officers estimate that the decision will reduce Council’s capacity to meet community needs by $11 million over the next decade. It appears no other Council in Victoria has chosen to reduce its capacity to meet future needs in this way.

With finances at Council tight due to inflation, and cost increases across many areas of expenditure and with legitimate wage increases on the horizon for front line workers, progress on upgrading libraries, roads, foot and bike paths, new parks and services in aged care, youth services, arts and more will be seriously affected.

The argument that a 2.8 percent increase would give something meaningful back to people doing it tough in the current economic climate turned out to be a fantasy.

The .7 percent benefit goes overwhelmingly to wealthy property owners and investors. If your home is worth $5 million you stand to save $60 in Council rates in this new financial year but if it’s worth $1million you will be lucky to save $12. And, of course, if you are a renter there is nothing.

A very small one-off ‘saving’ for some individuals but a significant loss to the community over the long-term.

ALP and Green Councillors voted against the reduced rate increase after seeking to persuade their fellow Councillors to increase the rate by 3.5 percent with a one off rate rebate for 2023-24 for those most in need, as a reasonable compromise. This would not have had the long-term effect of a compounding 0.7 percent loss into the future.

Voting NO to 2.8 percent were Crs. Crawford, Martin, Nyaguy and Baxter.
Voting YES in favour of 2.8 percent were Crs. Bond, Pearl, Clark, Sirakoff and Cunsolo

A number of additional motions were put to the vote:

Theatre Works

A motion to provide $40,000 to Theatre Works to cover 50 percent of the cost to install a new lighting grid, was carried successfully with Crs. Baxter, Nyaguy, Crawford, Martin and Cunsolo voting in favour and Crs. Bond, Pearl, Clark and Sirakoff voting against. Council opponents saw Theatre Works as a ‘commercial enterprise’ and as such not deserving of Council support.

Their failure to understand the importance of Council financial assistance for local non-profit arts and cultural activities, such as theatre, is a worrying sign for the future of our Arts community.

EcoCentre

The EcoCentre lease came in for considerable debate on the night. The Budget papers stated that the EcoCentre would be given a lease in the new building for up to ten years. The EcoCentre has been seeking a 21-year lease and understood it was still in negotiations about the term and other aspects of the lease. A longer lease would recognise that the State Government and Council had both allocated the funds for the construct of the new building specifically for the EcoCentre organisation. Further, a longer lease will provide stability and security to enhance the EcoCentre’s prospects of securing funding for environmental and climate change programs from philanthropy and government into the future.

A motion to further consider a lease of more than ten years at a future meeting of council after community engagement on the issue was successful with Crs Martin, Baxter, Nyaguy, Crawford, Cunsolo and Bond voting in favour and Crs. Clark, Pearl and Sirakoff voting against.

Community Development Fund

In a strongly argued case, Cr. Crawford put forward a motion aimed at clawing back a mere $25,000 of the $87,000 cut to the Cultural Development Fund (CDF) – the one outcome resulting from Council’s expensive and time-consuming Cost Review process conducted late last year and early this year. CDF funding goes to individual creative projects and is a lifeline for many artists in our community.

The motion was successful with Crs. Crawford, Martin, Nyaguy, Baxter and Cunsolo voting in favour and Crs. Bond, Pearl, Clark and Sirakoff against. It was such a small gain but it drew much heated opposition from RoPP/Liberal Councillors, yet another reflection of their negative attitude to our Arts community.

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