Owners of industrial properties and business rate payers outside of the Ulladulla CBD, including those in Milton, Bawley Point and Burrill Lake, could be slugged with a rate rise of up to $350 per year to cover Nowra CBD’s “massive rate burden”.
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Shoalhaven City Councillor Mark Kitchener said he was angry over a proposal to decrease Nowra CBD business rates by about 30 per cent for 2015/16, while business rates for all other locations across the city, excluding Ulladulla and Sussex Inlet, were set to increase by up to 20 per cent.
A budget meeting will be held in Ulladulla on Thursday night where council staff and councillors will discuss the proposed rate changes.
General manager Russ Pigg is encouraging business people and landowners to attend the meeting and said the changes would be “controversial” but weren’t “locked in”.
“The final decision of council will be guided by community submissions and further analysis of the present disparity,” he said.
“I am hoping that more residents and business owners turn up and engage in a sensible debate”
He said the current rates in the Nowra CBD were much higher than other business areas.
“It becomes a question of how big that difference should be given that Nowra CBD does benefit from higher levels of services,” Mr Pigg added.
Cr Kitchener said he was outraged at plans to “rob the poor to pay the rich”.
He said rates in the Nowra CBD would fall by an average of $1500 while the outlying businesses impacted by the decision would rise by almost $350 on average.
“There are already many businesses outside Nowra that are overwhelmed with costs and close to closure and this business rate rise could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” he said.
“Furthermore this transfer of rate burden will be borne by all small business operators when landlords pass these costs onto their tenants.”
Cr Kitchener said the Nowra Revitalization Committee has a guaranteed minimum annual budget of $500,000 plus footpath and street cleaning every day, while no other centres have this service.
“Other CBDs in the Shoalhaven would be happy to share in this privileged prosperity so they too could plan their own revitalisation and have their streets washed down every day,” he said.
“In my opinion it is completely outrageous to ask the community and small business outside Nowra to foot the bill for discriminatory decisions made by council to give Nowra CBD Ratepayers a $600,000 golden handshake.”
MIlton Community Consultative Body (CCB) secretary Rebecca Cameron said the rate increase would hit Milton business owners hard.
“It will affect owners and lessees of any commercial property,” she said.
“It places an unfair financial burden on retailers already struggling in some of the harshest economic times in decades.
“It is manifestly unfair and will have a direct added cost to businesses.”
She said it was not fair to financially favour one business or property owner over another.
Councillor Patricia White said Nowra CBD rates were “extraordinarily high” compared to other business rates, so council was attempting to create a “fair and equitable” rate system for the whole Shoalhaven.
She said the rate rise had been included in the draft budget for discussion and she hoped anyone paying business or industrial rates outside of the Ulladulla CBD, from North Street to Parson Street, would attend Thursday night’s meeting and have their say.
“Council staff will present the proposal and then it will be open to discussion,” Cr White said.
“I urge all businesses outside the CBD to find out more and make a submission to council.
“I have asked the mayor to call a public forum so we can look at the business rating separate from the rest of the council budget - it is an enormous issue.”
Cr White said business rates debate had “been going on for 20 years” and needs to be looked at.
“If people don’t have their say now, they will face a rate rise,” she added.