City of Bunbury lock in $900,000 contribution to Bunbury Harvey Regional Council waste service

Bunbury councillors have confirmed the city will contribute $900,000 to the Bunbury Harvey Regional Council despite concerns raised about the ongoing cost. The vote in favour of the payment to the waste management facility came at last week’s council meeting after the waste organisation indicated it would have a $1.7 million deficit without it. Each year, operating contributions are generally split evenly between the City of Bunbury and Shire of Harvey with this year’s total tipping $1.8m. The regional council operates the Stanley Road facility which takes rubbish from both local government areas, but is at risk of trading insolvently without financial backing. The vast majority of Bunbury councillors were on board with the funding. Deputy mayor Tresslyn Smith said the service was valuable to the city and important to protect. “The future is bright for the Bunbury Harvey Regional Council after a couple of grim years,“ she told the council. “There will never be any further approvals for this type of facility on the Swan Coastal Plain and the licence is valuable to both the City of Bunbury and the Shire of Harvey.” Cr Gabi Ghasseb argued the funding was not the most efficient use of ratepayer money. “For me to vote to spend millions of dollars (sic) on behalf of the community, I must be assured that the money will be spent efficiently and with the proper fiduciary duty that is required by councillors,” he said. The funds will come out of the city’s waste reserves as allocated in the 2024-25 budget and is a slight reduction in last year’s operating contribution of $950,000 — as well as also paying more than $350,000 extra as a mattress contribution. In the 2022-23 financial year the City of Bunbury put almost $4m into the service — the majority of which covered its cell capping project. The executive recommendation said the funding should be approved with the arrangement in place due to “significant financial strains” on the BHRC’s short-term viability. The vote passed eight votes to one, with Cr Ghasseb opposing.