Moorabool votes 6-3 against introduction of municipal charge

A municipal charge will not be introduced as part of the Moorabool Shire’s rating system after strong opposition from residents.

Councillors voted at an unscheduled meeting this evening in favour of an officer’s recommendation not to proceed with the charge.

The vote was 6–3 in favour of the recommendation, with councillors Tom Sullivan, Paul Tatchell and Ally Munari against.

Cr Rod Ward, who attended the meeting online, moved the recommendation and said a recent survey made it clear that most people did not want a charge introduced.

But Cr Sullivan said there had been a lot of misinformation about the issue, with many people believing it would add extra costs to their rates when it would not.

He said rates were currently calculated on a capital improved value basis with valuations done every 12 months.

There could be significant swings in valuations across the shire each year, he said, and a municipal charge would not create additional income for the municipality.

It would instead distribute costs in a fairer way, Cr Sullivan argued.

Cr Sheila Freeman seconded the motion and said that a municipal charge would indeed force people living in lesser-valued properties to pay more.

“This is not fairness, this is cost shifting,” she said. “Rates should reflect the ability to pay. This is not supported and it is not fair.”

Others who spoke in favour of discarding the idea were councillors Moira Berry and John Keogh.

Cr Tatchell spoke against it and councillors Jarrod Bingham and Munari did not speak.

In a division count, in favour were councillors Berry, Bingham, Freeman, Ward, Keogh and mayor Steve Venditti-Taylor. Against were councillors Sullivan, Tatchell and Munari.

A municipal charge of up to 20 per cent would have been included as part of the municipality’s revenue and rating strategy, but residents’ responses to consultation on the Have Your Say platform between 27 January and 17 February showed clear opposition.

A report to the meeting said there were more than 3,900 page views on the engagement site, with over 1,800 visitors accessing information.

It said there had been 234 “actively engaged” participants and 206 submissions lodged through the platform.

The highest volume of responses came from Bacchus Marsh, Darley, Maddingley and Ballan.

“The results indicate clear and widespread opposition to the introduction of a municipal charge,” the report said, adding that a charge may be reconsidered in future reviews of the rates strategy.

“Many respondents stated that increased or redistributed rates were difficult to justify without corresponding improvements in service delivery.

“There was a sentiment that council should focus on efficiency, cost control and service improvements before altering the rating structure.”

The report noted that a small number of submissions expressed support, primarily from rural or farming perspectives.

In other decisions taken at the meeting, councillors voted 5–4 to take $428,000 from the shire’s Landfill Rehabilitation Reserve fund to pay for bins necessary to comply with a state government-mandated rollout of green waste collections by the 2027–28 year.

The shire will be required to provide residents with a 240-litre green waste bin and a kitchen caddy to support food organics collection.

It will spend the $428,000 for bins and caddies in the 2026–27 year and will recover that cost over the first three years of service delivery through increased waste service charges.

The final agenda item, to include an outline of proposed subsidised waste services in the draft 2026–27 budget, was carried on another 5–4 vote.

The options for subsidised services will be open for public comment as part of the budget consultation process.