THE Northern Grampians Shire Council adopted its 2016-17 budget on Tuesday accompanied with a dire warning rural councils would not survive without a revamp of taxation distribution.
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Mayor Murray Emerson said the draft budget was adopted with no objections and only slight changes.
Council road funding decreased $1.5-million from the draft budget projection after the federal government decreased its Roads to Recovery funding.
Cr Emerson said council was disappointed the federal government decreased allocation, but said it should even out as government support increases in the next three years.
He said rural councils would continue to struggle and die with serious taxation adjustment.
The budget highlighted the council had been forced to exit childcare in Stawell, step away from direct Visitor Information Services in Halls Gap, decommission buildings, sell assets and cease to subsidise school crossing supervision services.
Cr Emerson said the current taxation distribution of three cents in every dollar going to local government, 16 cents to state and 81 cents to federal, was hurting the local government sector and communities.
“We must get better distribution of tax or we simply won’t survive,” he said.
Cr Emerson said ratepayers and local government bodies had reached their capacity to pay and the burden could no longer be put on the two groups.
The budget said tasks given to the council by other tiers of government would be handed back, out of financial necessity.
Cr Emerson said council was also hampered by the rate cap of 2.5 per cent, half of the normal five per cent increase.
“We’ve abided by it for now but I don’t agree,” he said.
“Over three to four years the compounded loss is enormous.
“We’re losing about $200,000 a year out of the budget. That’s $600,000 in three years alone.”
Cr Emerson said without a redistribution of taxation, rural councils like Northern Grampians faced an uncertain and unviable future.
“It’s dire,” he said.
“Our income stream is very restrictive.
“It’s not like a major city council where you are making millions in parking fines.
He said local government need six per cent of the taxation dollar to continue to provide services and avoid passing costs onto ratepayers.
Cr Emerson said if taxation distribution and rate caps continued, the shire would soon have an unmanageable shortage of money.
“Without better distribution we won’t survive,” he said
“No longer can we put it back on ratepayers. They’ve reached their capacity to pay.”
