Special rate review meeting

CASEY’S controversial rates review report will go before a special council meeting on Monday, 30 October.
Councillors decided that the issue was too extensive to be dealt with during a normal meeting.
The extensive report faces a rocky road because of an already stated strong opposition to reducing rates in the rural sector.
A briefing before the council during July this year also indicated that senior officers are less than keen on some recommendations in the report.
This briefing warned councillors that from a social equity perspective they might have serious concerns with the thrust in the report.
It said: “In effect, the recommendations will benefit rural residential property owners in an area of the municipality where the capital improved values are significantly higher than the vacant land areas where values are lower.”
The committee produced an extensive report that covered heritage, pensioners, rural, green wedge, commercial, residential, industrial, retirement villages and vacant blocks.
Vacant block owners were about the only significant sector not represented on the committee.
The report said that the issue of high council rates and high annual rate increases was a very real concern for many residents and their families.
However, the July briefing said there had not been any demonstrated failing of the current uniform rate approach used by the City of Casey.
One of the committee recommendations is to introduce a suite of differential rates and rate rebates.
The aim is to provide a more equitable rating system and to ensure that rating policy is consistent with the council’s broader social, economic and environmental objectives articulated in council policy documents such as the Casey Planning Scheme, Heritage Strategy, and the Business Attraction Policy.