AUGUSTA Margaret River Shire residents have expressed concern on social media after receiving their rates for the year.
Confusion about where the rates go and how it is decided was highlighted by the community over the last couple of weeks.
Scott Warwick posted on Facebook that he lives on a 399 square metre block in Cowaramup and said his rates were $2500, which he believes was not fair.
Resident Tammy Mackenzie also posted on Facebook, questioning the price difference between Cowaramup and Margaret River.
“Why some of the smaller blocks pay higher than the bigger blocks - it is not consistent and why Cowaramup pay so much more than Margaret River,” she said.
The shire has a brochure which shows the breakdown of where the rates go and how it is decided.
Augusta Margaret River Shire manager of finance Andrew Ross said rates could vary significantly, based on a range of different influences.
“So it is not always meaningful to compare notices based on price alone,” he said.
“At least one of the examples posted online also appears to be inflated as it included a carryover amount from the previous financial year.”
Mr Ross said influences on the price included use of the property, size of the block, size of the dwelling, layout of the building, number and type of outbuildings and waste disposal charge.
All properties within the shire were subject to a new evaluation which was effective on July 1, 2015.
Mr Ross said in 2015-16 Landgate’s average property value increase for residential was 16.75 per cent.
To achieve an overall average increase of only 4 per cent, Council reduced the cents in the dollar amount from the previous year by 9 per cent.
Thirty three percent of the money from rates goes to maintenance of community buildings, toilets, ovals, parks and gardens.
The next biggest cut is 18 percent which is allocated to road and infrastructure maintenance, street lighting, public open space and waste collection.
