Waste charge changes

Borough’s new fixed-fee model for rubbish collection

THE Borough of Queenscliffe’s decision to apply a fixed rate to kerbside waste will see lower-value property owners worse off while cutting costs for some of the area’s richest.

The change will see the owners of the highest-valued properties more than $100 better off each year, enjoying a 3.04 per cent decrease to those with a property value of $1.5 million.

Currently, the kerbside waste management fee is calculated on Capital Improved Value (CIV), which is the total market value of the resident’s land and dwellings.

The changes will see those with a CIV of $400,000 and under face a 6.03 per cent increase in their rates.

Concerns have been raised over how the change will affect the Borough’s high population of pensioners, who often have a fixed income with little room for increased expenditure.

Cr Tony Francis said that a CIV policy to recover waste cost wasn’t a “smart way to do business” and that fixed charging would give council the freedom to consider more options for waste management.

“A lot of discussion around this was held at council and I think all of us would like to be Robin Hood and take from the rich and give to the poor,” he said.

“It does hurt our lowest income part of the community, but we will have looked at offsetting that with the rebate to the pensioners.

“For the small percentage there will still be a little bit of impact, but that’s the challenges we face when splitting up the pie.”

The council will offer a $30 increase in the current rebate to eligible pensioners in an attempt to offset the extra cost. That would take the total rebate to $70.

Cr Ross Ebbels said he did not believe the pensioner rebate went far enough.

“I believe moving from a CIV-based kerbside charge to a fixed charge does disadvantage our lower-income resi- dents,” he said. “Obviously we do have an ageing population here in the Borough and I think this will impact them too greatly.”

The Borough of Queenscliffe boasts the lowest rate charges for the 2017-18 period in comparison to its G21 counterparts, City of Greater Geelong, Colac Otway, Golden Plains and Surf Coast councils, who all also charge a fixed rate for kerbside waste management. The changes in kerbside charges will come into effect on July 1.