Community & Business
23 June, 2021
Rates on the rise for Mareeba
MAREEBA Shire ratepayers can expect to pay $196 more in their water access charge on rates after the 2021-2022 budget was recently handed down.
MAREEBA Shire ratepayers can expect to pay $196 more in their water access charge on their rates after the 2021-2022 budget was recently handed down.
At the Mareeba Shire Council’s (MSC) monthly meeting last Wednesday, the new budget was passed with a ‘water infrastructure focus’.
Several months ago, MSC identified that Mareeba’s current water infrastructure was on its last legs and needed drastic upgrading after being installed over 60 years ago.
Ratepayers will now have to pay an extra $196 on their water access charge to off set these upgrades, together with additional help from state and federal grants.
There has been an increase in water main breakages leading up to the budget announcement further enforcing the need for the new infrastructure.
MSC Mayor Angela Toppin has described the aging water infrastructure as reaching a ‘critical point’.
“We have had to introduce a $196 water access charge increase in this budget to meet the extraordinary circumstances presented by the aging water infrastructure network which has reached a critical point,” she said.
“Most councils in Queensland have water infrastructure problems, we’ve been the brave council in not postponing this problem, we are biting the bullet and doing it now.”
This means that ratepayers who were paying a $561 water access charge, will now be increased to $757.
Besides this increase there has also been a 2.5 per cent increase to the general rates, “to ensure services and community assets are maintained to an acceptable standard.”
This increase remains within expectations as part of council previous financial plan that was implemented some years ago and remains active.
Urban residential ratepayers who receive all services (water access, wheelie bin, sewerage) pay an average increase of $250.77 for the 2021/22 financial year, this includes the new $196 water access charge increase.
“Over the next 12 months, Council plans to invest more than $12 million in water infrastructure upgrades, including $7.6 million to upgrade the filtration system at Mareeba's Water Treatment Plant,” Cr Toppin said.
“Council will spend $52 million on its treatment plants and network over the next 10 years and an additional $185 million over the following 20 years.”
“If Council did not act now, we would soon face increasing interruption to the water supply due to crumbling water pipes, breaks and service failures.”
In a budget snapshot the money spent on water, waste and sewerage has nearly doubled since the last budget, jumping from 16.9M in the 2020-2021 to 28.7M in the 2021-2022 budget.
The new increase to the water access charge will be permanent and will take effect in the new financial year on July 1, 2021.
