Levy critics challenged

CARDINIA Shire councillors have challenged election opponents to find a better way to pay for works and services than the $100 municipal levy.
Cr Doug Hamilton last week claimed candidates wanting to drop the levy were simply trying to ‘buy votes’.
The levy imposed on all ratepayers has been the subject of much controversy in the community since it was introduced last year.
It is said to be hated by some of its stronger critics and has not surprisingly been a key issue of debate in the build-up to the elections that will be decided on Saturday.
Many candidates have said they will push for the levy to be removed if they win a seat on the council.
But councillors have spoken out strongly over the past week in support of the charge which raises more than $2.2 million each year.
Cr Hamilton said abolishing the levy, which is now common practice in many Victorian municipalities, would leave a hole in the council’s budget that could not easily be filled.
Cr Leonora Cox said in a letter to the Gazette last week that removing the levy would mean rates would have to go up about 20 per cent to make up the shortfall.
Cr Hamilton’s statements on the issue came after Cr Graeme Legge asked him a question about the municipal levy during the final meeting of the council’s term.