City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder here to ‘support, not punish’ as 3.3 per cent rates hike is endorsed

The City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder council says it is here to “support not punish” ratepayers after endorsing a 3.3 per cent rates hike for the 2025-26 financial year. The 3.3 per cent increase in the rate-in-the-dollar and minimum payments for gross rental valuation residential, commercial, accommodation and mining rates for this financial year, was officially approved at Monday night’s special council meeting. Overall rates revenue yield will increase by 5.01 per cent, equalling a $1.7 million increase in money derived from rates for the city — with the total rates revenue expected to be $35,822,533 in 2025-26, up from $34,112,213 in 2024-25. The council received 12 submissions during public consultation for the proposed rates hike, which are confidential but were summarised by general themes of concern about the financial impact on ratepayers. Speaking at the meeting on Monday, mayor Glenn Wilson said the city as an organisation faced cost-of-living increases as well, including utility and construction costs and that if the city were a business, it “would not hesitate” to put rates up. “We know that our ratepayers are not being treated as clients, we know that we are doing the best we can for our ratepayers who are struggling this point in time — we’ve been as tight as we can in this particular instance,” he said. “The rate increase this year, at 3.3 per cent, is in line with probably being one of the lowest in regional Western Australia, something that is very considered, considering that regional Western Australia faces more challenges and more hurdles to deliver projects in local government than what they do in the metro area.” Cr Terrence Winner was the only person to speak and vote against the motion but said he was not necessarily against what was being proposed, he just also was not supportive of it. “I would much rather see the budget before settling on rates,” he said. “We don’t know if the proposed rate is too high or too low.” The motion was moved by Cr Carla Viskovich who said she understood the rates increase was difficult — particularly for families already struggling with rising living costs — and encouraged people who were struggling to reach out early for payment options. “This council is here to support, not to punish,” she said. “We want clean streets, safe infrastructure, thriving community events and responsive services — these will come at a cost, and if we freeze or underfund our revenue, it’s not long before these services and infrastructure quality do suffer. “This increase isn’t an increase just for the sake of it, it’s about maintaining what we have and doing it properly, it’s about meeting the rising cost of service delivery without cutting corners or letting our standards slip. “As councillors, we have a responsibility to ensure our town remains a great place to live, not just today, but for the years ahead. “That means facing hard decisions with honesty and foresight. I believe this increase is responsible and necessary, and I support not because I want to ask more from our residents, but because I want to ensure that they continue to receive high-quality services and amenities that they deserve.” Cr Viskovich said she understood Cr Winner’s concerns, but she did not want to see an increase any higher than what was being proposed and would rather change the budget than increase rates more. She said some ratepayers compared local rates to those in Perth, but explained local rates included sewerage, waste and drainage, which were sometimes charges through Water Corporation rates in Perth — making local rates look more expensive. Cr Nardia Turner seconded the motion and said adjusting a rates increase by even half a percentage could have “long-term ramifications” on a town across 10 to 20 years. “I feel that we’ve kept the rate . . . increase as low as we can,” she said. “But we’ve got a budget. We’ve got a lot of work that we’re trying to do. We’ve got ambitious road programs, footpath programs, kerbing. We’ve got ambitions to do a lot of things around the city, and unfortunately, none of that is free to do.” Cr Turner urged ratepayers to look at the emergency services levy on their rates statement, which she said had increased a lot over the years, but the city was simply collecting it for the State Government. The motion was passed 5-1, with Cr Winner voting against it and Mr Wilson and Crs Dellar, Turner, Johnson and Viskovich in support.

City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder here to ‘support, not punish’ as 3.3 per cent rates hike is endorsed

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