Intensive agriculture landowners have rate rise cut by more than half as Shire of Waroona adopts budget

A Peel council has partially backed down on a proposal to slog some businesses with an 80 per cent rate rise, but those receiving a reprieve will still be hit with a double-digit hike.

The Shire of Waroona will introduce differential rates this financial year for eight properties as part of efforts to create more parity between industry located within and outside the Waroona townsite, and allow more to be done on maintenance resulting from heavy road use.

Under the council’s original proposal, a single industrial, mining and intensive agriculture differential rate was set to be imposed with an 80 per cent rate increase from the 2022-23 financial year.

But the shire has instead voted to split the differential rates as part of its annual budget, with four intensive agriculture properties to be hit with a significant but lower 35 per cent rate rise, paying 1.0413 cents per rateable dollar.

Shire president Mike Walmsley said the decision was about striking the right balance.

“We have received feedback from one particular group but we are also looking at increasing intensive agriculture as a land use, so we do not want to be slugging them,” he said.

There will be no such reprieve for the four industrial and mining landholders, who will pay 1.3883c in the dollar.

Cr Walmsley said he hoped the businesses impacted by the decision would be able to adjust to the changes.

“No one likes paying more rates but the decision is about equity,” he said.

“There are some business which have been paying UV rates who have turned quite big.”

The decision makes up part of the council’s $15.8 million 2023-24 budget, a 2.6 per cent increase on last financial year.

Total rates revenue is expected to increase from $5.44m in 2022-23 to $5.87m in 2023-24, an increase of 7.9 per cent.

However, most ratepayers will only be hit with a 3.95 per cent increase due to the majority of the rise coming from the differential rates introduction.

Cr Walmsley admitted the budget was a challenge every year.

“There is not a lot of levers for local government to pull in increasing revenue and the cost of doing business is increasing,” he said.

Property owners whose rates are determined by gross rental value will pay 10.4568c, while the overwhelming majority of unimproved value landholders unaffected by the new differential rates will pay 0.6942c.

Changes to the waste services fee will also come into effect this financial year, with all ratepayers now required to pay the $228 levy.

Major projects on the cards include the completion of the Waroona Community Precinct, works at Drakesbrook Weir and about $2m in road program funding.

A new $100,000 loan will be borrowed from the WA Treasury Corporation to fund the subdivision of council land in Preston Beach, with profits from the resulting land sale to be reinvested into local communities.

Rates are due on September 22.