Letter to the Editor. RATES
Council Produce or Reduce?
Councils should be producing wealth not diminishing it. Councils used to produce wealth, not just consume it.
Local Councils traditionally made their incomes from public utilities by producing income from Gas, Electricity, Housing, Water, Sewage. Our Council many years ago was pro-active, but now contracts out rubbish removal and only retains Water and Sewage. Non traditional but innovative Councils have developed Industrial Estates, Co-operative Shops, Harbour and Docks, Holiday Camps. Our Gympie Council, once produced Electricity and Gas, (the gas works site is now the Civic Centre), the Council used to empty the bins and should have made money out of it, the contractors can. One hundred and forty years of ratepayers contributions should have built an infrastructure that can ‘value add’ to our local resources instead of deducting from the peoples resources. Either, Council has to create new income streams for itself by ‘value adding’ producing, not punitive taxation of the residents, or drastically reducing its rates and charges.
Surely, that is not such a crackpot idea, in fact if Council continues its exponential growth of rates and charges, our community will face compounding financial problems due to the equal decrease in the regions financial resources that are left to be spent with other local businesses. Our Council has to realise that there is a limit to the amount of money it can extract from its community as when the business community collapses, the Council sinks with it.

You are Now Entering the Gympie Regional Council Area.

Council rates and charges are increasing exponentially due to the forever expanding functions of council budgets, whenever Council wants more money, all Council has to do is to demand it. We, the long suffering ratepayers either pay, or walk away and leave our property for Council to sell up. Council rates, have long over exceeded any CPI or business, wages, or pension growth, they reduce the shrinking pot of money, that residents have available to spend. No one else can increase their spending power at the rate Council increases its rates and charges, that means that every year there will be less in the local economy for employment and businesses. Our local economy is already re-acting like a falling deck of cards. Rates increase rents, rents increase, people have less money for food, less money for fuel, less money to pay there other debts, they may move away, or squat in one of Council empty houses, as no one has money to buy houses and not enough money to pay rent. Landlords, without tenants, without money, are then Landlords that cannot pay rates. Council evicts landlords and tenants, to sell property. Already property is not selling, so it remains vacant. Squatters, many who used to pay rent, or owned the property, move back into the empty building. Then the Council goes bankrupt. Not a scenario that one would wish for, or that happens often, but it has happened in  Pittsburg, Bridgeport, Orange County, California, New York City Council and in the United Kingdom.
Local Government has a huge potential, which can make a very positive contribution to our local economy or a very negative hole in it. We all have no doubt about which way it is proceeding, hopefully its leaders will make a change and either reduce or produce. Something has to happen, or will the last one out please turn the lights off.
Ron Owen
24 Mc Mahon Rd
Gympie, 4570