By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
CASEY Council has been accused of “wasting” $250,000 on its failed submission to lift rates above a 2.5 per cent rise.
Casey Residents and Ratepayers Association spokesman Brendan Browne said the council should have known the Essential Services Commission’s likely verdict, given the bid’s unpopularity.
“The council tried to argue the unpopularity of the excessive rate charges didn’t matter because it was still in the best interest of ‘all ratepayers’.
“It makes you wonder whether the council are so used to wasting money, that $250,000 down the drain doesn’t matter to them.”
The Municipal Association of Victoria estimated the submissions would cost up to $40,000.
Casey Mayor Sam Aziz said it was inaccurate to portray Casey’s bid as “wasteful”, noting there was no “extra cost” to the ratepayer.
He said the ‘cost’ comprised the hours devoted by council staff on the bid, though external consultants were hired for required community consultation.
“The (Local Government) minister (Natalie Hutchins) told us we should not hold back on community consultation.
“If you look objectively at what was required for the best possible shot, we did what we had to do.
“We put in a very professional document of full modelling and analysis on the impact of rate-capping on the fastest-growing (council area) in the state.”
The ESC stated that councils had reported the required paperwork was “extensive” and the process itself “cumbersome”.
“As part of its review of the system, the ESC should … make it as simple as possible for councils to meet their application requirements.”
Casey chief executive Mike Tyler told the ESC, in the course of the council’s submission, that one of the required tasks was a 50-page spreadsheet, with more than 9000 cells requiring individual data. “This alone was about 30 days’ work that had to be diverted from other tasks.”
Mr Browne said the argument that there was no extra cost to the council was “feeble”.
“What kind of council would redirect so much valuable staff time into a dubious attempt to increase rates?
“With Mayor Aziz’s support, those staff could have been working productively for the betterment of the City of Casey.”
