FRANKSTON Council has been funding millions of dollars of services unrelated to waste collection through its waste charge. Each year, the state government sets a cap on how much councils can increase rates and municipal charges. The waste charge is not bound by that restriction.
Frankston Council collected nearly $33.5 million through its waste charge in the 2023/2024 financial year, its budget states. A spending breakdown of the waste charge obtained by Council Watch under freedom of information laws show that council spent around $21.1 million of that on kerbside waste collection, $3.6 million on waste collection at public bins and spaces, and the rest on other services. From the waste charge, council budgeted nearly $3 million for street cleaning, $2.34 million for drainage and pit maintenance, $426,000 for graffiti removal, and $524,000 for “climate and sustainability”.
Frankston Council CEO Phil Cantillon says that other councils engage in similar practices, and that the charges are “reported to the Essential Services Commission by all local government organisations each year.” “Like most councils, Frankston City utilises a waste management charge, under the Local Government Act 1989, to fund critical services such as waste collection, disposal and recycling, landfill rehabilitation, street cleaning, dumped rubbish, and graffiti management,” Cantillon said.
“These services are common across all councils and either charged via rates or waste-related charges. New guidelines were introduced by the Victorian government in December, seeking to create consistency across all local government about what is included in these charges. Council supports these changes and will continue to be transparent about what is included in our charges going forward. “We have worked through the impact of new guidelines, which will be reflected in the annual budget for the financial year 2025/26.”
Frankston Council’s website reads “we apply a waste service charge to your rates to recover the cost of council waste services”. Local government minister Melissa Horne told 9 News last week that the waste charge spending is “clearly outside of the guidelines and clearly outside of the Local Government Act.”
Frankston Council’s 2024/2025 budget is at the consultation stage. The amount collected through the waste charge in 2024/2025 is projected to decrease slightly to $33.27 million.
Council defends waste spending
Picture: Supplied
