Published on Wednesday, 16 June 2021 at 12:27:58 PM
Council met last night for a highly anticipated discussion on advertising a proposed rates rise for the 2021/2022 financial year.
Following robust discussion and with amendments to the Officer Recommendation tabled at the June Ordinary Council Meeting, Council voted to advertise the proposed rates with two out of three amendments from Councillors.
The decision means the Shire will advertise the amended proposed rates to the public for a period of 21 days commencing at the end of this week.
During the public comment period, the Shire will welcome formal feedback on the proposal from community members. The feedback will be collated and presented to Council to aid their decision making as part of the annual budget adoption process.
Shire of Denmark Acting CEO David King said the Shire acknowledges the value of tourism to the local economy and that the proposal tabled at last night’s Council meeting was ultimately about spreading the associated costs fairly.
“At the end of the day, we don’t think it’s fair for a local family living next door to a residential zoned short-stay accommodation provider to cover all of the costs to the Shire which are incurred by visitors at the neighbouring property,” Mr King said.
“Denmark is well-known as a welcoming, tourist friendly town, but with increasing numbers coming into our Shire, the fact is, we’re faced with the need to manage increased demand on our ratepayer funded services in order to provide a positive visitor experience.”
“For example, our ratepayers fund waste services in our Shire. When we’re collecting our public bins seven days a week in peak tourist season, as opposed to one day a week in the off season – the question that follows is who should carry the cost of that additional demand?”
“Commercial and tourist zoned holiday accommodation providers in our Shire already pay a rate which reflects the commercial nature of their business. All we’re proposing is that our residential holiday accommodation providers pay their fair share too.”
Ratepayers also fund ranger and cleaning services in addition to local road maintenance and major projects for recreation precincts in the Shire which see increased usage during the peak tourist period each year.
Despite significant media interest on one particular rating category in the proposal, ratepayers who come under any category are welcome and encouraged to submit their thoughts during the public comment period.
“We look forward to hearing formal community feedback on this proposal,” Mr King said.
“Our community can be assured that every public submission must be considered by Council before a final decision is made as part of the annual budget process.”
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