A STATE parliamentary inquiry is asking for public feedback on the sustainability of regional municipalities such as Ararat Rural City Council.
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The joint Environment, Natural Resources and Regional Development Committee is investigating the funding and budgetary pressures facing council.
It will also look at council’s capacity to meet infrastructure needs, distribution of rates and the impact of rate capping.
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Rural and Regional Transport Simon Ramsay said farming communities has suffered under the current rating model.
“For decades there has been review after review as government look at trying to find equity in rating methodology without penalising sections of ratepayers,” he said.
“This public inquiry is an opportunity for interested stakeholders to provide submissions and illustrate to the committee the failures and impacts of the current rating system.
“I strongly recommend communities of ratepayers that want to have a say should put in a submission by September 12, whether it is one page of 100 pages.
“They should also request to appear before the committee if they are passionate to do so.”
Ararat Rural City Mayor Paul Hooper said council faced the same challenges many other small, rural municipalities had to deal with.
“We know infrastructure pretty well, we have people out on the ground all the time who know what is going on,” he said.
“The reality is we have put more money into our road network than has ever been spent.”
Cr Hooper said the two biggest issues facing council were the freezing of financial assistance grants, which fund roads, and scrapping of country roads and bridges program.
Both funding programs give council money to spend on upgrading and maintaining roads.
Mr Hooper said if the financial assistance grants were maintained and the roads and bridges money reinstated council would be able to remain sustainable.
“We have done an enormous amount of advocacy, through council chief executive Andrew Evans his management team, who have stripped $1 million of costs out of our operations,” he said.
“It has helped tremendously and that challenge continues.
“We are looking always at smarter and more intelligent ways to deliver services.”
Cr Hooper said council staff were doing a good job to maintain Ararat’s road network.
“Sure there are examples where we need work done, but across the whole network, and we have 2000 kilometres to maintain and it is in the best condition it has ever been,” he said.
“We have put in more money into our road network than has ever been spent. I would say it has never been in better condition.”