Rates are one of the things I've always been happy to put in the category of "just divide it up between us" because we all use roads,etc. and its really hard to work out who uses how much and who should pay a little more, the system isn't perfect by any means but it is workable.
Until now. This from this morning's Courier Mail:
QUEENSLANDERS face rate rises of up to $145 next year following a decision to tackle housing affordability by capping infrastructure charges.
Councils say a decision by the State Government to cap developer charges at a maximum of $28,000 per dwelling will leave them with a $10 billion shortfall over 20 years.
A report obtained by The Courier-Mail reveals rates will have to rise by between $32 and $145 next financial year alone to balance the books.
Ipswich City Council would be the worst hit with the annual increase per ratepayer for 2012 tipped to reach $145.22.
The council is in one of the state's highest growth areas, leaving it with a greater funding shortfall.
The report, prepared for the Local Government Association of Queensland by AECGroup, predicts Ipswich rates would then have to rise another $151.50 in 2013 and by up to $276.83 in 2031.
In Townsville the move could spell a $93.78 rise in 2012 and $97.71 the following year.
On the Gold Coast, already struggling residents could be forced to pay an extra $69.88 next year, while Logan ratepayers could face rises of $68.47 in 2012, $71.36 in 2013 and up to $120 in 2031.
Brisbane ratepayers face the smallest predicted increase of $32 this year followed by a rise of $34 in 2013, according to the report.
Brisbane City Council will be the least affected by the cap due to the lack of open space left to develop.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said this month the council would consider changing its current infrastructure charge discount to make up the shortfall, saving ratepayers.
Under the State Government initiative, councils will be limited to a maximum $28,000 headworks charge for houses with three or more bedrooms, a saving for developers of up to $22,000.
One and two-bedroom homes will have a maximum $20,000 charge, a $10,000 saving.
Councils had wanted the maximum cap set at $30,000.
Developers had called for the cap to be closer to $20,000 to give their struggling sector a boost.
It will cost Brisbane City Council an estimated $14.6 million in lost revenue in 2012.
Gold Coast City Council is predicted to lose about $17.2 million.
LGAQ chief Greg Hallam said councils would have no choice but to lift rates to make up the shortfall.
"The State Government has made its decision and these are the consequences," he said of the predicted increases.
"Over a 20-year period that (loss in revenue) equates to $400 extra per ratepayer."
To say I'm astounded that developers should get a free ride at the ratepayers expense is an understatement, I'm hopping mad about this.
The Queensland Labor Government is trying , in my opinion , to make up to it's developer mates for it's own policy of deliberately trying to leave other parties without sufficient funding to fairly contest elections with expensive media coverage by closing the big wide open door that was used by Labor itself of taking million dollar election campaign contributions from bigger development companies.
Those developers which contributed those millions of dollars seem to have been the recipients of better then fair chances of having ULDA take over from councils and negate a lot of expense in getting land to development stage already, and now those developers don't want to pay for their developments which are going to be almost satellite cities, to be connected to infrastructure supply.
Developers should have to pay for infrastructure up front, especially if they have bought very cheap rural land and been sitting on it for years which is definitely the case around much of Australia where Land banking is the norm for many big development companies.
The Ratepayers Associations have a fight on their hands, with councils too scared now they are effectively a department under the minister for local government, because in effect they can have their administration removed and the elected representatives sacked and have the council run from the department if necessary.
Ratepayers Associations will have to include some very adept bean counters to be keeping councils honest too, because it's already been seen that with the last fiasco, government incorporation of water utilities, that councils charges were so far above costs of supply that all of them seem to be making very healthy profits, and that a windfall taken right out of the pockets of every resident living in and paying rates in that councils area.
Where are our councils on this issue? nowhere.
Where are our councillors on this issue? very quiet indeed.
Sorry folks, it down to you, you actually need to get behind all those little groups of "busybodies" and "nutters" who are out there working in your community for the good of all and start to fight for your rights, developers will be pretty happy with you paying the infrastructure costs for them and guess who they'll be thanking for it? Anna Bligh,. . .not you who will be paying it.
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