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Monash Ratepayers Association - Editorial Comment

The Monash Council Budget and your Rates

The recently released proposed Monash Council budget and 6% rate rise has focussed the Monash Ratepayers Association on several key issues. Of recent times, leading up to the Council’s budget release and rate rises we have highlighted the practice of cost shifting from other levels of Government onto local Government.

The core of our concerns with respect to the Council’s budget are to be found in parts of the Monash Ratepayers Association’s Statement of Purpose and Current Concerns, both of which have and are stated on the opening screen of our website.

• With respect to our Statement of Purpose, we work for equity for Ratepayers and Residents, and for improved democratic process and participation in local government.

• With respect to our Current Concerns, we have clearly and over a long period highlighted escalating rates, budget blowouts, lack of community consultation, and lack of accountability of elected councillors.

Recently, we provided a written submission to Council on our views on the 2005-2006 budget, as did other individuals and organizations within the City of Monash as we were all invited to do by Council. The MRA went on to make a formal verbal presentation to a special meeting of Council to review such submissions.

This verbal submission summed our position into three headings.

They are:

1/ A 6% rate rise for 2005-2006 is excessive on top of a 7.5% rate rise last year and the year before, and recent upwards property revaluation. The latter, together with the rate rise make the total increase in 2005-2006 for ratepayers much more than 6%.

2/ The CPI for the last year and projected for 2005-2006 is less than 3%. The absolute largest rate rise the MRA considers acceptable is therefore 3%. Not 6% plus.

3/ Our concern about cost shifting from other levels of Government and the consequent action by Council of placing a greater revenue burden on ratepayers.

We further pointed out in our verbal submission that we believed there was an urgent need for the Council to get its operating costs under control.

In our written submission, which was also framed around our general position, we went into more detail with specific examples of increases derived from the Council’s proposed budget.

Some of the responses from Monash’s Councillors were as follows:

• We were thanked by two councillors for our submission and enlightened approach. It was stated that, at last the Council could work with the MRA.

• Two Councillors then proceeded to attack our committee member who wrote the written submission. (The practice of “character assassination” by some Monash councillors is of great concern to us. It seems to increasingly be a modus operandi. It does nothing to enhance the reputation or professionalism of Council. It is not just directed to members of the MRA. It is also directed to some members of community groups and even fellow councillors. Whether it is based on personalities, or attacking persons with an alternative point of view, or for whatever other reason, we find it totally unacceptable. It would seem this practice will have to be the subject of a dedicated MRA article for another time.)

• One councillor pointed out that, since the council’s internal operating costs were increasing by around 6%, the rate rise was reasonable and that CPI (which is assessed on a range of typical consumables) was not a valid comparison. The MRA’s point is that, many ratepayers’ capacity to pay rate increases directly correlates to CPI increases. The councillor demonstrates a very inward looking attitude lacking in customer (the ratepayers and residents) focus.

• Councillors claim that Monash rates are among the lowest in the state. The MRA, however, is interested only in Monash and not what other councils are doing. Monash can and must do better.

• A councillor pointed out that he thought the rate on his $850,000 house was quite reasonable. The MRA points out that most councillors and senior council officers are in financially comfortable positions. However, many people in Monash are asset rich and income poor, such as self funded retirees and others who are unemployed or on fixed incomes. For them, these rate rises are excessive and unacceptable.

• The MRA suggested that, if in a worst case scenario, Council could not hold its rate rises to 3% of less, perhaps it should spread the completion of its ambitious capital expenditure program over a longer period of time. Whilst the MRA generally supports the thrust of Council’s capital works and infrastructure, we do not expect them all to be achieved in one year, and not at the expense of higher rates.

• One councillor asked what services the MRA would like cut! We do not accept and insist that there no need to cut services. We believe that Council can and must review its internal operating practices and consequent costs, like most other organizations have had to do over the last two decades. The Council still recruits personnel in large numbers. There needs to be a freeze on recruitment, a review of internal organization structures and operating systems with a view to providing the same and better services more efficiently and in a less costly manner. Council seems to think it does not need to do this, because it has a compliant cliental of ratepayers that it can pass costs onto at its leisure. This is a contemptuous attitude. Business organizations with few exceptions do not have this luxury and nor should Monash Council.

The approach taken by Monash Council on this budget gives it the aura of a fat, lazy and complacent council, too ready and willing to pass costs on to ratepayers rather than make a concerted effort to improve its operational performance. Its internal operations need to be that of a ‘mean and lean” organization. This does NOT mean that it should be “mean” in the sense of its attitude and delivery of its services to the people of Monash.

The approach council has taken on inviting community response to the budget is also of concern to the MRA. It is not consultation. It is merely lip service, going though the motions, and is not genuine. Consultation means listening and acting. Not patronising and dismissing. There is a clear lack of genuine community consultation, and a lack of accountability. This only serves to give the perception that the council is arrogant and contemptuous. Over a number of years Monash Council has invited and received submissions on its proposed budgets. To our knowledge, it has NEVER amended any aspect of a budget as a result of a submission!

The MRA will work constructively with council but will not to be taken for granted. Nor will it allow ratepayers and residents to be taken for granted or treated with contempt.

We draw your attention to those areas of our Statement of Purpose and current concerns listed earlier in this editorial, and point out that the council handling of this budget has shown that it is not interested in equity for Ratepayers and Residents or improved democratic process. It is clearly uncommitted to containing escalating rates or budget blowouts. It lacks genuine community consultation, and its elected councillors (who have, at time of writing this editorial, approved this budget) lack accountability.

The final aspect, giving rise to this unacceptable rate rise is cost shifting from other levels of Government. This is putting considerable pressure on Councils. At the time of making our verbal submission, the MRA became aware of a press release from the Australian Government. This press release forms the concluding part of this editorial.

In essence it calls for a fair funding partnership between the three spheres of government that will better serve all Australians and all levels of Government. It further calls for those three levels of Government to come together to develop an inter-governmental agreement that identifies the roles and responsibilities of local government in delivering State and Federal programs, and the allocation of funds and resources needed to fulfil these responsibilities. Finally, it calls for local government to be recognised as an integral level of governance in Australia and will seek to have cost shifting recognised as a genuine problem. (Local Government only exists at the pleasure of the State Government of the day.)

Premier Bracks has stated since the last Federal election that he wishes to form a better working relationship with the Federal Government. This initiative would seem an ideal place to start and we urge the State Government to enter into dialog with the Australian Government.

We urge Monash Council and especially its councillors to embrace this initiative and write to the Premier and Candy Broad, Minister for Local Government, seeking that the State Government takes the initiative and enter into discussions as a matter of priority.

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