The City of Bunbury is will lose $102,949 in rates income per year due to a new Access Housing application.
Access Housing provided an application to the city for a rates exemption under section 6.26 of the Local Government Act 1995.
The application was seeking a rates exemption for 79 properties in the region.
An internal assessment declared the application eligible.
Presented to council on Tuesday, October 9, an executive recommendation called for the city to grant the exemption and for chief executive officer Mal Osborne to contact WA Housing Minister Peter Tinley.
Mr Osborne will raise concerns with the minister over cost shifting between the State Government and local governments in regards to leasing for charitable organisations.
At the council meeting on Tuesday, October 16, councillors Murray Cook and James Hayward spoke in favour of moving the recommendation.
“We do not have any option, and if we did vote against it we would be taken to the State Administrative Tribunal and we would lose,” Mr Cook said.
Councillor Michelle Steck put forward an amendment, calling for Mr Osborne to contact the Western Australian Local Government Association’s South West Zone with regard to changing section 6 of the Local Government Act.
“We should advocate for changing section 6 of the Local Government Act so we do not have to give away ratepayers’ money to people like Accordwest, Access Housing, Bethanie Fields etc.,” she said.
“I believe it’s time local governments expressed themselves that this is unfair, and WALGA should be advocating on our behalf.”
Fellow councillors Brendan Kelly and Sam Morris also voiced their concerns over Access Housing’s application.
Following the deliberations, council voted to grant the exemption.
The city also voted unanimously for Mr Osborne to communicate with Mr Tinley and WALGA.
“Up until now, Access Housing has been paying rates,” City of Bunbury Mayor Gary Brennan said.
“This application for non-rateable properties, under the not-for-profit legislation, will result in a $100,000 to $110,000 loss per year.”
We’ll need to consider that very closely, if you look at our non-rateable properties it’s close to about $1 million per year that we don’t receive, but that also includes some buildings that have never been rated.
- City of Bunbury Mayor Gary Brennan
Access Housing currently leases 58 of their own properties along with 22 from the Department of Housing.
The organisation also sent rates exemption applications to the Cities of Fremantle, Busselton, and Belmont along with the Shires of Capel and Dardanup.
Next year, the council will discuss the impact the rates exemption application has had on rates within the City of Bunbury.
“That’s something the council will look at when we formulate next year’s budget,” Mr Brennan said.
“We’ll need to consider that very closely, if you look at our non-rateable properties it’s close to about $1 million per year that we don’t receive, but that also includes some buildings that have never been rated.
“That doesn’t automatically mean we are going to increase rates to counter the decrease in revenue.
“We look at expenditure, the capacity of our community to pay rates, long-term financial planning, and ways to increase our rate base.”
Mr Brennan said churches, not-for-profit agencies, aged care facilities, and halls were exempt from rates.
“It depends who operates them and what they are used for.” he said.
“If they are for not-for-profit use, and they satisfy the legislation, then they non-rateable.”
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