A Maribyrnong councillor has rejected calls for the city to merge with neighbouring councils as a way to reduce property rates.
Cr Michael Clarke said talk of potential mergers stretched back to the 1990s.
Last week, the Weekly reported that residents rallying against high property rates had called for the state government to consider absorbing Maribyrnong council into other council areas to better spread residential rates.
Maribyrnong mayor Grant Miles said he was personally in favour of merging Maribyrnong with Hobsons Bay.
But Cr Clarke said such a move would be a major mistake given the work Maribyrnong had done to reduce the “infrastructure gap”.
Any savings would be overwhelmed by the cost of fixing infrastructure in areas where other councils had been lagging. “With the greatest respect to the mayor, a council whose financial position was so remarkably strong in relation to other municipalities would have no reason to want to join with them,” he said.
Cr Clarke said the council could look at improving its shared service agreements with other councils as one way of reducing the need for doubling up with machinery and contracts that could be shared across neighbouring councils.
Hobsons Bay mayor Sandra Wilson said as the matter had not been formally considered by the council it had no official position.
Victorian Local Government Association president Cr Sebastian Klein said residents outraged over rates must consider the services the community expected from councils, including childcare centres, libraries and recreation facilities along with “roads and rubbish”.
The Ratepayers Victoria Association suggests people should refuse to pay the general rates portion of their bill.
But the Municipal Association of Victoria said this “ill-conceived advice” would result in penalty interest of 11.5 per cent and the potential for legal action.
Anyone facing genuine financial hardship is urged to contact their council and arrange a payment plan or rates deferral.
