Butler bites back over review

By Jim Mynard
BALLA Balla Ward councillor Colin Butler has challenged Four Oaks Ward councillor Rob Wilson to fully read the Casey Community Rate Review report.
Cr Butler has attacked comments made about the review committee process by committee member Frank Brunda and Cr Wilson (Gazette, 30 August).
However, Cr Wilson said during an interview that he had read the document.
Cr Butler didn’t agree and said deputy mayor Cr Wilson would do well to actually read the rate review committee document in full.
He said this was because all representatives on the committee had combined their knowledge and abilities to compile the extensive and wellresearched report.
He said they singled out the Rural Landowners’ Association (RLA) and called it a danger in the municipality when it had 200 members from the north of the city who Cr Wilson represented.
Cr Butler said the RLA met every three months and that with his selective memory Cr Wilson failed to acknowledge that the RLA only became active in the rate debate after he Cr Butler raised the need for a rural rate six months earlier at a council meeting.
“The report is hardly a secret cash grab as claimed by Mr Brunda and Cr Wilson when the 77,000 properties would supposedly have to subsidise 2000 rural properties,” Cr Butler said. “They have been recommended in the report to receive a five per cent decrease in the rates they pay.
“Surely that alone suggests to Cr Wilson that he should more thoroughly read the document and try to understand what it is saying.”
Cr Butler said a property bought for $45,000 in 1982 was now valued at $288,000 and paid $936 in rates, while a rural property bought the same year for $82,000 was now valued at $822,000 and paid $2700 in rates – three times the amount of the first property.
“This is nothing more than a capital gains tax hidden in a rating system that 65 of 75 councils in Victoria scrapped for differential rating systems 20 years ago,” he said.
“Or is it a simple case of property B actually subsidising the rate revenue for residential property A in this city? “The city cannot increase the total rates revenue from the base figure before revaluation.
“Therefore, if the rural property increases by 20 per cent in value then the rate revenue from that property increases by 20 per cent.
“It seems that although this was carefully explained to Mr Brunda and all other members of the rate review committee, some simply didn’t understand it or simply chose to ignore the facts.
“I agree with Mr Brunda in his statement that if one section of the pie pays less then someone else has to pay more. That is exactly what the rate review committee report is saying, and for which he admits he voted against.”
Cr Butler said charges for waste services, pensioner rebates and retirement village rates all needed to be examined.
“Take all these into consideration and there is not a dominant theme from this report because it delivers across the board benefits to the community,” Cr Butler said.