By Cameron Lucadou-Wells
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RATEPAYERS in Greater Dandenong face an average 4.98 per cent rise in rates after councillors last night defied a push for cuts to the 2012-13 budget.
On average, residential ratepayers will be charged an extra $49.09 – including a $20.20 garbage charge increase.
However, not every ratepayer will be affected equally. Due to rising property values, residential ratepayers in Bangholme face a massive 36.66 per cent rate rise.
Lyndhurst, Dandenong North and South, Keysborough, Noble Park North and Springvale South residential ratepayers will also face higher than average rate rises.
Greater Dandenong corporate services director Mick Jaensch estimated 30 per cent of residential ratepayers’ bills ’would not rise and 51 per cent would be charged a rise of less than 3 per cent.
He said commercial ratepayers and owners of vacant residential land faced the steepest rises.
At last night’s council meeting in Springvale, councillors Roz Blades, Peter Brown and Maria Sampey pushed to shelve $430,000 towards traffic lights at the intersection of Robinson Street and Princes Highway.
The cut would have shaved the average rate rise to about 4.5 per cent, and trimmed about $3.50 off the average rates bill.
They argued the funding was not yet required because VicRoads had not yet funded the remainder of the $2million project. Cr Brown said the council shouldn’t pay for some of the bill for an upgrade of a federal highway in any case.
Cr Sampey played down the need for lights because the 10 collisions at the intersection between 2006-10 were not fatal — though there was a illegal fatal drag race smash in nearby Henty Street.
Cr Angela Long, who said she didn’t support any further cuts to services, questioned her three colleagues’ motives during an election year — an accusation that particularly riled Cr Blades.
Cr Long asked if the next council would vote for an 8 per cent rate rise next year to make up for any cuts to this year’s capital works program.
