By XAVIER SMERDON
WYNDHAM Council will write to the State Government over concerns that the new fire services levy is unfair for business owners.
As revealed in Star last week, the owner of the Bridge Hotel in Werribee, Barry Main, has seen his levy increase from $1000 to $7000 under the revised system.
Previously residents and business owners paid a levy based on the insured value of their property, but the new system will see it collected by councils based on the rateable value of a property.
Councillor Peter Maynard raised a notice of motion at last week’s council meeting calling on the council to write to the State Government over the issue.
He also claimed that the State Government had not adequately educated business owners about the levy.
“Commercial and industrial property owners within a country fire authority area are indicating to council that they are being levied at a much higher rate than in the past under the previous insurance based levy system,” Cr Maynard said.
Cr Glenn Goodfellow was the only one to vote against writing to the State Government, saying the idea was offensive.
“I take offense with my 400 fellow firefighters in the City of Wyndham. To draw correlation to the fire services levy and identifying improvements in local emergency services is a political statement made in ignorance and actually is a disgrace coming from this council to those volunteers,” Cr Goodfellow said.
“This is a fairer system that actually distributes it across all property owners in Victoria. We are approaching a realm which we do not have expertise in.”
Mayor Heather Marcus took the rare step of stepping down as chair of the meeting to speak on the issue, calling for support for Cr Maynard’s notice of motion.
“I feel very disappointed to hear what Cr Goodfellow said tonight,” Cr Marcus said.
“I’ve been approached by many, many commercial and industrial people, from not only here in the city of Wyndham, and they are now struggling.”
“If somebody owns a vacant block of land in an area of this city and has to pay $1100, do you think this is fair?”
