Yesterday I attended a council meeting at Blackhead Surf Life Saving Club, which Mid-Coast Council had organised to disseminate information and allow questions on Gateway’s pending development application to build an estate comprising 202 manufactured homes at Tallwoods Village.
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At the meeting, several questions were raised by the public and answered by council staff and/or Gateway’s representatives.
When asked how much revenue council would receive from the 202 sites, it was reported that the amount would be around $13,000. Considering the current zoning allows for 79 houses with potential annual rates of around $1000 to $2000 each, it was pointed out that council stands to lose a considerable amount of revenue if this estate goes ahead.
In reply, council’s general manager, Glenn Handford, made it clear that council doesn’t actually lose a cent. He said that the State government controls how much revenue each council receives and likened it to a big pool of money that never changes (unless council is allowed a rate rise).
He used a historic example where the Valuer General had increased the unimproved value of all rateable properties east of the highway. So that the amount of council revenue stayed the same, properties west of the highway had to be devalued.
Mr Handford went on to stress that the ‘loss’ of potential revenue wasn’t a loss at all because it wasn’t borne by council but by ratepayers, whose rates would increase “minimally” to cover the shortfall. Council staff backed the general manager’s comments and pointed out that they don’t even consider the effect of potential rates “losses”.
Early in the meeting, one of Gateway’s representatives had stated that they’d “had their eye” on the Mid North Coast for quite a while and this manufactured home estate is just one of many that they hope will receive council approval. Apparently, at present there are around half a dozen proposals within the MidCoast local government area.
If the other proposals are of a similar nature, that’s six times the potential rates loss or between five and 10 million dollars every 10 years. Of course, as Mr Handford pointed out, council won’t “lose a cent”. That burden will forever be owned by MidCoast Council’s ratepayers, whether they live at Taree, Forster or Gloucester. The more manufactured homes estates, the more ratepayers will suffer rate increases.
Listening to the replies from council staff, I gained the impression that they had already decided to give this proposal the go-ahead. The meeting was simply to assuage public concern.
I left the meeting wondering “how on earth is this forward thinking?” I’m also not sure I agree with the general manager that the rates increases will be “minimal”.
