Challenges for our new CEO
The arrival of Victor Harbor’s latest rates notice has brought a longstanding issue sharply into focus: are ratepayers getting fair value for what they are being asked to pay?
Judging by conversations across our community and the reaction in both traditional and social media, many residents don’t believe they are. Rates are high, household budgets are under pressure, and frustration is growing.
We now have a new CEO and, early next year, we will likely have a Council considerably different to the current group of elected members. The challenge that Council will face is how to navigate the complex problems underlying many residents’ dissatisfaction with their rates and the perceived ‘value for money’ for these rates.
The City of Victor Harbor and its ratepayers face at least two clear problems.
First, our rates are high both by general South Australian and Adelaide standards, and when compared against similar councils. There are clear reasons for this. We’re a regional hub, meaning we provide services and infrastructure for areas outside our physical boundary. We have a large seasonal influx from people who expect services to suit their holidays; and we have a large percentage of dwellings that are unoccupied for most of the year. This latter issue creates problems given government grants are usually based upon permanent resident numbers. In short, ratepayers are paying for a lot more than just the usual roads and rubbish.
The second issue is one of fairness. A large proportion of ratepayers receive some form of welfare payment, most likely the aged pension. When you add other fixed-income residents, such as self-funded retirees, we likely have a majority of ratepayers who are on a fixed income. Since the pandemic, our population and house prices have increased significantly, while average incomes have grown far more slowly. Because rates are partly based on a property’s capital value, many residents are paying more in rates without a comparable increase in income. How are people on fixed incomes expected to pay for ever-increasing rates?
These are just two of the problems our new CEO and incoming council will need to confront. There will be others. But the starting point should be clear: understand why our rates are so high, determine whether the burden is being shared fairly, and ask whether ratepayers are receiving genuine value for what they pay.
Peter Hanlon,
Victor Harbor