Community groups who were being slugged with insurance based on the worth of the hall they rent out have had the fee overturned.
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If the local hall is worth more than $250,000, council charged a portion of the building insurance premium to the group that rents it out.
At a ordinary council meeting on Wednesday night, councillors voted unanimously to remove the insurance premiums.
Seventy-one community groups paid a portion of insurance premiums to council, totaling $26,060.53 for the 2017/18 financial year.
Payments ranged from $11.60 to a maximum of $3,357.51 for groups paying a year’s worth of insurance.
The Burrumbeet Soldiers Memorial Hall committee president Alan McCartney said it was great news, as it would mean “less fundraising we have to do and more money that can go facility”.
“It’s vital for some communities to have their local hall to meet at,” he said.
“For Burrumbeet, we lost our pub, but this gives us a centre point to meet people and hold functions.”
Mr McCartney said the removal of building insurance requirements would encourage local groups “to do some work, keep it up to date”, instead of fearing being slugged insurance if they hall was valued at over $250,000 after their fixes.
Councillor Grant Tillett said for the “relatively small amount it costs” for City of Ballarat to pay for insurance for the buildings, the halls are an “important part of fabric of the rural sections of the city, and invaluable in times of emergency”.
The Burrumbeet Soldiers Memorial Hall committee paid around $180 in the last financial year.
