Councillors will start to explore how to spend the more than $700,000 collected in surplus as part of its rate increases this year.
In July the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale voted to increase rates by six percent for the 2023/24 financial year – 0.2 percent of which would be reserved in a fund to use to “support economic, subdivision and tourism development opportunities for the shire”.
Cr Dean Strautins was the prime mover behind the rates surplus.
At council’s August 21 meeting Cr Strautins brought a motion that the Chief Executive “explore shire infrastructure needs that could be manufactured in the Mundijong Industrial Park to increase business activity in the industrial area” ostensibly using the rates surplus funding.
He offered two potential ideas:
- The potential for shire licensing manufacturing of concrete bus shelters
- Leveraging the existing tree planting in the shire to offset carbon emissions to increase commercial competitiveness.
Council officers instead recommended that a workshop with councillors and officers be held to consider income-generating or business development initiatives as a starting point.
“As part of the workshop the ideas of constructing bus shelters and using planting to offset carbon emissions be used as examples to help determine a process by which new ideas can be considered prior to formal consideration by council,” officers furthered.
That recommendation was passed unanimously.
