Freeze over with hikes to parking charges, fines and rates
Updated ,first published
Living and parking in Melbourne will become more expensive with the City of Melbourne raising rates and charges by 8.49 per cent following a one-year rates freeze.
When Lord Mayor Nick Reece was elected he promised a “rates freeze” for a year; but this was only a one-year reduction, and revenue from established rates increased from $394 million to $429 million.
After the full reduction of last year’s 3 percent increase, there will be an average increase of 2.75 percent, and part of the increased income will come from apartment increases within the municipality.
“As a result, the cost of delivering services and activities has increased significantly for the core services we provide in the City of Melbourne,” Reece said.
The council will also increase parking fees and fines to balance the books in this year’s $804 million budget.
Downtown parking fees are rising, and revenue from those fees will rise 23 percent to $70.3 million this year, from the $55.6 million budgeted last fiscal year.
The increases come despite Reece promising there would be no increases in street parking charges during the four years of his term.
The council will also generate $42.8 million in revenue from parking fines, up 6 percent on last year’s revenue of $40.2 million.
When asked to account for his broken election promise, Reece said: “It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but the key commitment I made was… to run a tight ship in town hall and be fiscally responsible.”
He added that the new $7.30 fee is significantly cheaper than private off-street parking, which can cost up to $20 an hour.
Revenue from waste management fees is expected to rise 18.2 per cent from $58 million to $69 million, but Reece said this was only to offset increased costs.
Chief finance councilor Owen Guest, who describes himself as a “fiscal hawk” and has been critical of the Mayor’s election promises, said it was far better to raise wages gradually in line with inflation rather than “offering no pay rise at all… and having to do it in a big way over the coming years”.
The increases allowed the council to forecast a surplus of $1.2 million, marking a “hat-trick” of three consecutive surpluses.
The City of Melbourne has managed to reduce its projected debt from a high of $275 million to $60 million by the end of the council term, with the aim of being completely debt-free by 2032.
Guest explained that the council was on the verge of reaching its legislative debt limit before aggressive restructuring of capital works projects. Expensive and large construction projects are now being postponed, but nothing has been taken off the list, Guest said.
The Mayor said operational savings were also achieved by bringing the work “in-house” and reducing reliance on outside consultants.
The budget will double the number of “community safety officers” from 11 to 22.
Reece campaigned on crime and safety in the 2024 council elections, promising to set up a 30-man team of city security officers wearing Kevlar vests and equipped with body cameras.
Tuesday’s budget shows that vision is almost 75 percent complete in the second year of Reece’s term.
The cost of the new 11 officers was $1.7 million, added to the $2.1 million allocated for the original officers.
For the first time, contracted mental health workers will also patrol the CBD at a cost of $1.1 million for 10 personnel.
Although they will not be paired with NGOs, they will be in contact with them and each service will be able to call on the other to care for rough sleepers or people in mental distress.
NGOs will be in-house staff, while mental health workers will be contractors.
The city is also increasing the number of CCTV cameras.
Last year it installed 100 new cameras, bringing that number to 450 across the CBD.
150 more cameras will be added to this year’s budget and $320,000 will be given for a total of 600 cameras.
Other initiatives include introducing food, organics and garden organics (FOGO) waste services to high-rise towers and extending $2 summer pool admission on weekdays, free fitness classes in parks and free summer swimming lessons for residents, protected cycle lanes on Exhibition Street and a controversial extension to Bourke Street Shopping Centre.
Reece said the expansion of Bourke Street Shopping Center was part of the council’s drive to pedestrianise the city and would include a review considering the section from Swanston to Russell streets.
“It’s not without complications,” he said. “There are two lanes serviced on this section of road, but that will definitely be part of the review.”
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Rachael Dexter is a journalist working for The Age’s City team. Contact her at rachael.dexter@theage.com.au, rachaeldexter@protonmail.com or via Signal at @rachaeldexter.58.Connect with: Facebook or email.
