By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Casey Council has slightly dampened a proposed waste charge rise in its $441 million final budget for 2018-19.
In good news for ratepayers, the council modestly trimmed its charge down from $330 in the draft budget to $326 after negotiations with its recycling contractor.
The charge rise instead amounts to $24 – one of the lowest rises in Victoria in response to the recycling industry’s export crisis.
As expected, rates will rise in line with the 2.25 per cent rates cap.
Late budget revisions included $170,000 for a portable building at Merinda Park Learning and Community Centre.
Funding was reallocated from a project at Essex Park Community Place to Barry Simon Pavilion, to take advantage of a state grant.
However, the Alliance for Gambling Reform failed to attract a $25,000 contribution to its anti-pokies campaign, despite an in-person submission by director Reverend Tim Costello.
The alliance is backed by several Melbourne councils, including Knox, Greater Dandenong and Monash.
Meanwhile, Casey Basketball Association still hopes to avert a proposed steep hike in fees for V-League games at Casey Stadium.
Under the proposal, the CBA claimed that the court hire charges for next Big V season would jump from $11,340 to $49,850 – a 339 per cent rise.
CBA general manager Tammy Bower said the association was meeting with Casey and the venue’s manager YMCA to strike a compromise.
“At the end of the day, we don’t think the (proposed hire fee) will go ahead. If it did, we’d have to look at cutting back things, or price increases.”
The final budget retains its $122 million capital works program including two family and community centres in Clyde North, a district-level soccer pavilion at Jack Thomas Reserve and building a ‘missing link’ of Glasscocks Road.
The council allocated $4.4 million towards its continued digitisation.
In adopting the budget on 26 June, Casey mayor Geoff Ablett reiterated the growth council’s concerns about an emerging funding gap.
“This is the first budget in which the cumulative pinch of rate capping is clear and is impacting decision making.
“This budget represents Council reaching a tipping point where the future will be characterised by the increasingly difficult job of bridging the gap between the infrastructure and services the community expect and what Council can afford to deliver.”
