Adoption of Fees and Charges for 2022/23

The fees and charges for the 2022/23 financial year were adopted at Wednesday night’s Council meeting.

Acting Mayor Sally Doyle said as part of its annual budget process, Council sets out and reviews the fees and charges it applies to all municipal activities.

“Fees and charges are primarily applied to users of our waste management, childcare, healthcare, retirement, recreation and development services to cover the majority of costs incurred in delivering these services,” she said.

“Fees and charges income is an important part of our total revenue, as it minimises the level of rates revenue required to provide these services to the community.”

The fees and charges for the 2022/23 financial year have been reviewed as part of Council’s budget preparation.

Cr Doyle said care is taken to ensure fees are: consistent with levels applied by other councils; consistent with levels applied by private enterprise; representative of value for money; and reflective of costs of service delivery where applicable.

Some of the more significant changes to fees and charges include:

Place of Assembly application fee now takes into account the level of resource required in line with the annual events held in the Valley Dog Registration fees now more accurately reflect the cost of significant Council resources required particularly in relation to the seizure of dogs at large and dangerous dogs, as well as licences to keep dogs that includes Council officer inspections Waste management fees increased to reflect the true cost of disposal rates, particularly in relation to green waste Cemetery charges to reflect true administration and caretaker costs. These costs are comparable with other local cemeteries Recreation fees – increased to reflect the actual costs and are comparable rates to other service providers Children’s Services fees increased across services to reflect increasing administration costs, additional staffing needs, increased operating costs and transport and activity costs.

A copy of the Fees and Charges for the 2022/23 financial year is located on our website.

Hard copies will be made available for inspection and available free of charge from the Council’s Customer Service Centre.

Cr Doyle said the Council has a Financial Hardship and Payment Assistance Policy, which provides assistance to ratepayers and community members experiencing difficulty in meeting financial obligations to Council due to genuine financial hardship. The policy and application form are available on our website.