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General News
28 April, 2022
EDITORIAL : Rates, budgets pies, staff numbers and innovation
We lament the lack of innovation in our Northern Grampians Shire Council. We lament that unless the residents of the shire make a noise that we, the ratepayers feel nothing of any real innovation or creative thinking seems to be undertaken. Last week St. Arnaud was the host, as was Stawell, to an Information Session headed by the Director of Corporate and Community Services, to introduce the new ‘fairer revenue and rating plan’ as a result of the uproar from the farming sector about the rise in their rates over the last couple of years and in particular the rise in the farming differential that in part determines those rates. To be fair, Council is locked in to the Government’s Fair Go rates system that will in the next year curb the rise in Council rates to an increase of 1.75%, although it could be said that anything more than that would be an outrage considering the economic climate. However, the farming sector seems to have won a more stable rating system although ratepayers do have until 13th May to submit written objections or comments to the plan.
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