Rodney Stevens
Ratepayers across the Clarence Valley could face an increase in rates of 4.7 per-cent if council adopts the full rate peg and doesn’t apply for a special variation to keep pace with inflation.
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal IPART has set the 2024 2025 financial year Final Rate Peg for each council, ranging from 4.5 per-cent to 8.2 per-cent, with Clarence Valley Council’s CVC maximum rate peg set at 4.7 per-cent, using a new methodology for the first time.
The rate peg, announced on Tuesday November 21, is the maximum percentage amount by which a council may increase its general income for the year.
Clarence Valley Council’s CVC’s rate peg for 2023-24 was 5.4 per-cent, when the inflation figure at that time was 6.8 per-cent, and the 2024-25 rate peg is still behind the September quarter inflation figure of 5.4 per-cent.
The new methodology takes into accounts CVC’s Base Cost Change of 3.9 per-cent, a Superannuation adjustment of 0.4 per-cent, an Emergency Services Levy factor of 0.1 per-cent, and an Emergency Services Levy adjustment of 0.1 per-cent, to reach a Core Rate Peg of 4.5 per-cent, to which a population factor of 0.2 per-cent is added to get the Final Rate Peg of 4.7 per-cent.
The actual rates that households and businesses pay is decided by councils and their communities, not IPART.
Rates must be set by councils to ensure that the change in total rate income stays below the rate peg limit.
Councils can choose to increase rate income by the rate peg, less than the rate peg, or not at all.
If a limit less than the rate peg is applied, the council can catch up on that shortfall in income over any one or more of the next 10 years.
Councils can apply to IPART for a Special Rate Variation to boost their income above the Final Rate Peg.
Property owners in most nearby Local Government Areas LGA’s received similar Final Rate Pegs to the Clarence Valley except Coffs Harbour, which saw its rate peg set at 5.6 per-cent.
Ratepayers in both the Richmond Valley and Ballina LGA’s will see rate pegs of 4.6 per-cent, while Lismore received the same rate peg as the Clarence Valley with 4.7 per-cent.
Just like last financial year, Camden Council has the highest Final Rate Peg at 8.2 per-cent, followed by Lockhart Council at 7.2 per-cent and Blacktown Council at 7.1 per-cent.
The CV Independent contacted Clarence Valley Council and asked when council will be voting to adopt the rate peg, either in full or part, and whether council would be applying for a special rate variation, but we did not receive a response before deadline.