FRANKSTON councillors have accused the Andrews government of “hypocrisy” over its plan to cap rate rises at the rate of inflation from 2016-17 onwards.
Councillors note charges such as the landfill levy, fire rates levy and a new metropolitan planning levy collected by council on the state government’s behalf will not be capped amid anger that most of the money in levies Frankston Council collects is not returned to the municipality.
At last month’s public council meeting councillors noted the landfill levy funds are supposed to be reinvested into “resource recovery” operations but the Labor state government had not contributed any funding towards a new $12.3 million waste transfer station due to open at Skye’s Harold Rd in October.
Cr Colin Hampton said it is “disgraceful” that about $7 million has been collected from Frankston ratepayers for state coffers since 2008 but little of the money had been reinvested in Frankston.
“The landfill levy has been taken from this council since 1996. It started off as $2.50 per tonne and now it’s $52 a tonne. That’s why our residents when they go to a landfill anywhere have to pay such an exorbitant amount of money to dump a trailer now.”
Cr Darrel Taylor slammed the new metropolitan planning levy, applicable from 1 July on all planning applications over $1 million, as being another money spinner for the state government.
He called on the Labor government to return the revenue to councils to help with the rising costs of assessing planning applications at a local level.
“It’s absolute hypocrisy. They’re going to rake in millions out of this … it’s a con, we’ve been absolutely conned. This is the last straw. It’s an absolute joke,” Cr Taylor said.
The metropolitan planning levy was introduced by the former Coalition state government led by then premier Denis Napthine.
Labor state government spokesman Kosta Pandos said the state planning department is finalising consultations on how to allocate the levy funds.
“Planning and subdivision fees will be adjusted once the planning department has finalised consultation on a regulatory impact statement and worked through the consultation findings with the minister,” he said.
Environment Minister Lisa Neville said the Labor government recently released a Statewide and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan outlining seven regional waste and recovery plans for all regions of Victoria.
“We are committed to considering more efficient ways to use the revenue on waste going to landfill,” Ms Neville said.
“The landfill levy is also used to fund core business activities of the EPA, Sustainability Victoria and the seven Victorian Waste and Resource Recovery Groups.”
Frankston councillors’ criticism of the state government’s “hypocrisy” in not capping levies pre-empted the release of a draft report on a framework for council rate capping by the Essential Services Commissions released late last Friday (31 July).
The draft report recommended “revenue from special rates and charges, ‘revenue in lieu of rates’ and the fire services levy should not be included in the rate cap”.
The fire services levy rose by 7.2 per cent for the 2015-16 financial year.
