Increased land values will be offset in rating str

Cairns Regional Council has assured ratepayers that new land valuations released this week by the Queensland Government will not have a significant effect on Council rates overall.

Under the recent valuation, land across the Cairns region has increased in value by an average 7 per cent.

Mayor Bob Manning said the new land values would be taken into consideration in the lead-up to the Council budget and would not dictate a rate rise.

“Each time land values change across the region, we respond by adjusting the rate in the dollar accordingly,” he said. “So there is no need to be concerned that about big rate increases as a result of valuations.”

Cr Manning said a lot of work would go in behind the scenes to adjust the rating structure so that it remained fair to all.

“We have a team of highly skilled people looking at the new land values and how they will affect the rating structure,” he said.

“While we don’t yet know the intricacies of any adjustments, we can confidently state that we are still working toward an increase around CPI for the majority of ratepayers – as per the plan we set out several years ago and have continued to achieve.”