Dust bowl of the Outback?
Mount Isa may no longer be an Oasis in the Outback.
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Mount Isa residents will be worse off by $300 under the MICC new rate charges.
If you go by the stats Mount Isa City Council have quoted ABC North West, we'll be going from $1650 to $1950 using the same water allocation of 950 kL.
So we've lost the discount we just to get for paying early, we’ve lost our 50 kL free water for the footpath and we are out of pocket $300 (if we use the same water allocation as last year), but apparently the council has 'heard us'.
MICC is asking Mount Isa residents to spend $1556.30 a year in total on water if they use HALF the allocated rate of 950 kL that we are usually entitled too, so we can save $100.
Are you kidding me?
ABC radio did an interview with the Mayor on the morning of Thursday, 12 June.
The Mayor makes the comment “even if they were using the 950 allocation before and paying the $1600 or so dollars, they were actually paying more in excess water bills, so they are going to be much better off in the long term”.
Under the old scheme, if I go over 150 kL (1100 kL), I will be paying an extra $397, so $2047 all up for water. Under the new scheme, if I use a 1100 kL, I’m up for $2400 all up for water.
Obviously the Mayor isn’t been given the correct information and perhaps the councillors aren’t making the best decisions if they are receiving incorrect stats.
It’s concerning, because the Mayor also stated they have been working on this for over 12 months.
Under this new scheme, Mount Isa will no longer be this amazing ‘Oasis in the Outback’ but pretty much a ‘Dust bowl in the Outback’.
We are being told by the Living with Lead Alliance, to make sure we water our lawns, but every time a householder goes to turn on the tap in an effort to beautify their garden, they will remember that they will be charged for every litre of water which they use.
The other point to remember is that large families will also be penalised, as their kids use the showers and flush the toilets more often than those with smaller families.
The real sleeper in this policy is the costs from the Water Board to the Council.
If there is a reduction in the volume of water which the Council purchases from the Mount Isa Water Board, the basic rule of economics dictates that the costs of treating our water will increase and those costs will be passed on the consumer. Yep, the ratepayers.
I'm blown away how this council has no idea how hard Mount Isa residents are doing it at the moment.
God help any retirees who want to stay in Mount Isa.
Danielle Slade,
Mount Isa
.
No Transparency in charges
I don't believe council are transparent in their water access charge - pretty certain this fee would include the State Bulk Water Levy which in other council areas is passed on as a per kL cost.....how has council determined the water usage per property in this fee and how much is hidden profit for them considering they want to be fair so have taken away the 50 kL footpath allowance so as not to charge ratepayers excessively.........the State Water Bulk Levy is a cost landlords are able to pass onto tenants - below is how transparent pricing was adopted by Gold Coast City Council who manage their own water charges (this pricing is quarterly and for a unit so does not include watering of lawns or other outdoor activities - also the graph depicts water usage prior to individual meters being installed to each unit)
Tami Neundorf Shorter,
Mount Isa