Local Government Minister Adem Somyurek set the maximum rate increase at 2.50 per cent for the 2019/20 financial year, compared to the cap of 2.25 per cent for the current year. 

Mayor Samantha McIntosh said City of Ballarat “completed key projects and provided essential services” within the constraints of rate capping, but the tax dollar needed to be shared fairly between different levels of government. 

“We understand and support the government’s position of seeking to control the cost of rate rises,” she said. 

“Rate capping isn’t the issue - the issue is the inadequacy of the current funding models for the core, community-focused, essential work of local government.

“Without significant state and federal government investment we will struggle to meet either our vision or our purpose.” 

Central Goldfields Shire chief administrator Noel Harvey said the one-size-fits-all model, where rates for councils with higher-population bases in inner Melbourne are calculated the same as rural shires, which have a greater geographical area to provide services to, needed to change.

“Everybody knows it (rate capping) is a problem – but it’s not a terribly popular thing to take on,” he said.

“Decades of governments have shied away from the issue.”

“We need a root and branch review, a holistic look at how we fund local government, but politically it’s not a winner so I don’t think it will happen.”

Councils can apply for an exemption from the cap until March 31 next year. Rate capping has been in place for all 79 councils in Victoria since July 2016, with increases determined in line with the Consumer Price Index.  

Mr Somyurek said in a statement the new cap was about “getting a fairer outcome for ratepayers and encouraging councils to work with their communities to deliver the things that matter most to locals.” 

- With the Bendigo Advertiser