Mildura Rural City Councillors tonight endorsed changes to the way general rates are divided between the three main property types in our region, providing rate relief to more than 18,000 households.
The Revenue and Rating Plan 2023-2025 sets out the percentage of general rates generated by residential, farming and business properties.
It will reduce the share of rates generated by residential property owners while increasing the share generated by farming and business properties.
Mildura Mayor Liam Wood said the decision was based on an exhaustive analysis of data and information from across the entire municipality.
"This was certainly a difficult decision for us tonight, as with any change to the way rates are divided between the three property types there will always be pressure points," Cr Wood said.
"The decision we've made tonight is to relieve the rates pressure on residential property owners, who in recent years have witnessed a steady increase in the share of the general rates they contribute from 57.8 per cent to almost 65 per cent – one of the highest among comparable Councils.
"This is about returning the balance between the three property types to a figure in line with what we're seeing elsewhere in Victoria."
Following tonight's decision, the share of general rates from irrigated and dryland farming properties will change from 76 per cent to 90 per cent of the base rate. The business rating category will change from 120 percent to 130 percent.
Cr Wood said while he understood farming and business property owners would be unhappy about the decision, it was symptomatic of a broader problem experienced by many regional areas across Victoria.
"The fact we've been forced to make such a challenging decision all comes back to the broken rating system which continues to impact unfairly on many regional Victorian Councils," the Mayor said.
"This isn't something new, and it's not just something you've heard us talk about.
"Our former Member for Mildura Ali Cupper campaigned strongly for many years to address the rating divide between metropolitan and regional Victoria, and I'm pleased to see current Member for Mildura Jade Benham is continuing this work.
"As we've done for many years, we'll continue to advocate strongly at all levels of government on this important issue to fight for a fairer share for our community, who for too long have shouldered an unfair rates burden compared to metropolitan areas."
