WA Treasurer and Member for Riverton Mike Nahan says ‘heads should roll’ over rate rises and the state of City of Canning’s finances after the city passed its 2015–16 budget last week.
The budget included an 8.49 per cent increase in the general rate in the dollar from 0.037 to 0.040 and a 9.9 per cent increase in the minimum rate from $621 to $683, still one of the lowest minimum rates in Perth.
In comparison the City of Melville and City of Gosnells recorded a 3.75 per cent and 2.99 per cent rise respectively.
In the past three years general rates in Canning rose by 22 per cent while in the past four years minimum rates had increased by 39 per cent.
Canning also reduced its operating expenditure from $118 million last financial year to $115 million, a reduction of 2.2 per cent.
Canning commissioner Steven Cole said it was a sensible budget with a view of the restoration of the city’s finances towards financial sustainability.
Dr Nahan savaged the rate rises and said the city shouldn’t ever have needed to increase rates as high as it was.
“In light of modest rate rises in neighbouring councils, Canning ratepayers would have been expecting similar sized rate increases, not the 8.49 per cent the city has announced,” he said.
He blamed poor management of the city’s finances over the past five years, which included ballooning employment costs.
“City of Canning is the optimal size, it can (be) and was one of the best run councils in the state and had the lowest rates and it should have the lowest rate given the mixture of its rateable base,” he said.
“But over the last number of years it’s just been poorly run at the cost of the ratepayers.
“They increased their costs substantially during the debate about the reform, I suspect they did that because they didn’t think they would have to be held accountable for it.”
“They (City of Canning) weren’t sustainable…they were inefficient, (the inefficiency was) not forced on them by the state government or Gosnells or anything like that but because of their own mismanagement.
“Heads should roll, that’s open for the commissioners.
“I’m not criticising the three commissioners.
“He (Steven Cole) has only been there for a short period of time, I understand he’s putting in a whole range of processes and at least he’s being transparent.”
Canning commissioner Steven Cole said the city was still one of the lowest rating councils in the metro area by some 10 per cent or more relative to comparable proximate local authorities.
He said the city was now moving constructively towards meeting the key benchmarks, in particular the operating surplus ratio and the asset sustainability ratio.
“Although the city’s financial position is strong, over recent years, its budgetary planning and execution have not been such to underwrite Canning’s sustainability for the longer term future,” he said.
“There will be a material reduction in full time equivalents by financial year end and the city is now on track towards returning to financial sustainability.”
Mr Cole said the city must stop being used as a political punching bag.
“Regrettably the two inquiries and the matters that gave rise to them being called have led to Canning becoming a political punching bag for those wishing to make derisory comments about the city,” he said.
“These comments must stop, they can only properly be stopped by taking away the basis which give substance and oxygen to them.”
The budget also outlined significant infrastructure work this financial year with $6 million on road renewals and $8.5 million on road improvements, money for a new city website and the completion of the Riverton leisureplex geothermal bore.
– Hamish Hastie
