Public anger boiled over at the Mount Isa City Council Chambers during Wednesday’s meeting.
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So many members of the public were there to voice their frustration over the Council’s proposed new water rates with not enough room in the chambers for all of them.
While around 60 or so were inside, another 30 were locked out of the meeting.
Two police officers were called in just in case things went sour and while matters never turned violent there was a great deal of anger inside and outside the chamber.
Council allocates 10 minutes for public questions at the start of each ordinary council meeting.
At Wednesday’s meeting there was was a list of allocated speakers to keep proceedings orderly.
However things became chaotic when those not listed spoke out from the gallery saying they were unaware they had to pre-register to speak.
Cr McCulloch told the gallery they were forced to change the way the water rates were calculated due to an ongoing legal battle.
“There will be no public forum,” Cr McCulloch said.
“We have been directed to make these changes.”
Usually council goes straight from the public forum into its meeting, but Cr Jean Ferris called for a 15 minute recess between sessions.
Most people still waited around for the ordinary meeting.
Meanwhile those stuck outside the meeting said Council should have expected a large crowd and moved the meeting to a bigger venue.
“The Mayor does not want to hear our voice,” said more than one person outside the door.
“There has been no consultation. This is a cop out”.
Many said the new system favoured those who were not water wise and those who regularly watered their gardens would be punished.
“Mount Isa will go back to being a dust bowl.”
If you did not get the chance to ask a question you can arrange a private meeting with council or you can submit your question below and we will find out for you.
Council told The North West Star that new changes to rates are expected to pass on Friday with full support from all councillors.
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Read council’s full media release below
“We have been deliberating over this issue and as a consequence of a recent Council legal decision, Council have changed the way it charges for water to a user pays system.
Throughout the past few years, Council have received many requests during meetings, community engagement exercises and telephone enquiries, to support the changes made to the charging system.
This system introduces a fairer pricing structure and gives ratepayers more control over their bills.
The system is made up of a fixed access charge which is predominantly made up of the fixed charges of almost $11 million Council needs to pay the Mount Isa Water Board and Sunwater for water.
The second component is the variable consumption charge which includes the Council’s costs in maintaining the distribution network.
Mayor Joyce McCulloch said unlike many cities Council pays a large fee to the Mount Isa Water Board and Sunwater.
“Council is expecting to be charged up to $10.7 million in the 2018/2019 financial year to access water for our community, this cost is distributed across our water ratepayer base, which is actually quite small, at around 7000 assessments,” Cr McCulloch said.
“The consumption charges, which we have kept to a minimum, are very reasonable compared to many other areas, but the access charge, we just can’t do anything to reduce the $11 million cost to Council.”
Cr McCulloch said to keep water costs to a minimum for ratepayers, Council have planned for a 0 per cent total revenue increase for water in the next financial year, whereas places like Townsville have projected an 8 per cent total revenue increase for water.
“We know our ratepayers can’t afford to take on greater costs. But the fixed charge to council of almost $11 million can’t be avoided, so we have kept our consumption charges to a minimum, while still being able to maintain the extensive water infrastructure of the city’s water network.”
Cr McCulloch said data was taken and analysed from council rating records on all occupied residential properties with a 20mm water meter and it was found that the average amount of water consumption for properties was approx. 490kl per year.
“If these properties continue to make use a similar amount this year, they will be looking at an overall financial saving,” Cr McCulloch said.
Camooweal residents are also included in the new charging system, but the town is similar to others including Cloncurry, Boulia, and Winton, in that the town produces its own water from bores or other water bodies, so costs of providing this water are very different to the filtrated water provided in Mount Isa.
Cr McCulloch said In light of the decision to simplify the charging system, Council have identified a number of areas where they can assist the community with reducing the impact of the change.
“We have taken on board feedback from community regarding their concerns around excess water bills and have developed a remissions policy which incorporates a number of things including a rebate for concealed leaks and faulty meters, along with rebates for defined medical purposes,” Cr McCulloch said.
“In addition, Council has provided for significant concessions to schools, not for profit sporting clubs, and community groups.”
Cr McCulloch said future initiatives include the exploration of a smart metering system and the securing of funding, which will allow for real-time monitoring of water consumption accessible by community.
“At the end of the day, we know that it costs a lot to access water. These are costs that Council have to pay, but we are working extremely hard behind the scenes to offset these costs for our ratepayers,” Cr McCulloch said.
“We are in the business of caring for our community and we will keep working to ensure their needs are met, and that Mount Isa continues to be a great place to live and work.”