Most Noosa residents will face a rate increase of 5.1 per cent or about $80 a year and some residents with land valuation increases of more than 60 per cent will face higher rate increases, according to the draft Noosa Council 2022-23 Budget that was released on Monday for a two-week public consultation period.
The $159 million budget will go towards $42 million in capital works and $117 million in operational costs.
Mayor Clare Stewart said Council had worked extremely hard to propose a rate increase at the national CPI rate for a majority of ratepayers.
“We are proposing to peg the increase of the general rate at just below CPI and when all levies and waste charges are included, the total council rates bill sits at a 5.1 per cent increase. This is in line with the current national CPI but is well below the Queensland CPI of 6 per cent,” Cr Stewart said.
“Increased land valuations, the February floods and recovering from Covid-19 have created enormous challenges in drafting this budget,” she said.
Cr Stewart said Council had deliberately adopted a measured approach to the way it deals with the significant jump in land valuations to ease the burden on a majority of ratepayers.
“It’s been a triple whammy and the councillors have certainly scrutinised all areas while trying to meet community expectations.”
At Friday’s Special Meeting, Councillors agreed to seek community input on which areas or projects could be prioritised over others and what initiatives could be reduced, altered or deferred to achieve potential savings.
Cr Stewart said much of the draft document had been shaped on last year’s detailed Liveability Survey.
“We had a fantastic response to this extensive survey with over 1600 people sharing their views on what they care about in their neighbourhood. The feedback has been valuable and has guided many of our discussions,” Cr Stewart said.
“Like many Councils, we have limited resources to deliver our priorities and meet community expectations, but we remain committed to working with our community to get the balance right,” the Mayor said.
Councillors will hold two community Q & A sessions to gauge residents’ views.
They are at Cooroy Library on Wednesday 1 June between 11am and 1pm and at Noosaville Library Thursday 2 June between 10am and 2pm.
“It’s important we continue to lay the foundations to see our shire revive, thrive and recover from the recent natural disasters through prudent financial management,” Cr Stewart said.
“Community feedback is an extremely important part in finalising council’s budget, so I encourage every ratepayer to share ideas via the Your Say Noosa website.”
Consultation started on Monday 23 May and closes midnight Sunday 5 June. Visit yoursay.noosa.qld.gov.au to complete the survey or to use the Balancing the Budget simulation tool.
