Mixed rates news for Karratha
Bills for most City of Karratha home owners will remain steady or be reduced under proposed 2015-16 rates, but not everyone will be better off.
While residential rates in Karratha, Dampier and Point Samson would see a slight reduction, some Wickham and Roebourne ratepayers will be hit with a small increase.
City of Karratha Mayor Peter Long said there were some inconsistencies.
This was due to the Wickham and Roebourne areas holding their gross rental value better than other parts of the city.
“Our rate bills are based on the value of individual properties,” he said.
“These values have changed significantly since the last valuations were done on residential properties three years ago.”
Despite the increase, average rates in Wickham and Roebourne will remain lower than in the rest of the city.
City of Karratha Ratepayers and Residents Association spokesman Marc Fogerty said the proposal was promising but had room for improvement.
“The Ratepayers Association is happy the rates have not gone up this year in the majority of cases,” he said.
“We would like to have seen the rates perhaps being reduced and we believe there is potential to reduce the rates further.
“I would expect at the next council meeting we will be making some kind of comment.”
The proposal would see the City collect 4 per cent more in rates in total in the next financial year.
That is lower than the 7 per cent figure forecast in the long-term financial plan.
