NEWS

From a Narrogin newspaper

TOWN Council rates will rise by 2 per cent following the endorsement of the 1999/00 Budget at last week's council meeting.
New councillor Mel Crosby was the only councillor who voted against the Budget, passed seven votes to one.
'In my election campaign I said I would vote against any increase in rates this year. I couldn't let my supporters down,' Cr. Crosby said later.
Speaking for himself, Cr. Crosby said there was a lot of pressure on the council to increase the rates however he still personally believed it was possible to achieve a zero increase.
'While I was campaigning, the complaint I was getting was the high rate level and the amount people were paying in rates,' he said.
Cr. Crosby said he believed it was possible to achieve everything the council did last year with a zero rate increase because the council received a grant from the Government this year.
The general purpose financial assistance grant of $31,922 will be spent on all the services the Town of Narrogin provides.
Mr Tindale said this grant was given to the council because of the increase in the town!s population.
'We're a lot more reliant on grant applications that have been obtained, such as Bikewest, Black Spot funding, Westrail, Home and Community Care and the Lotteries Commission.'Mr Tindale said.
Mr Tindale said with an inflation rate of 1.5 per cent for the quarter ending March 1999. the 2 per cent rate increase would result in a real increase of only 0.5 per cent.
Narrogin Town Mayor Sally Higgins said the council would not get this type of grant every year and it would be well spent on road re-sealing and general maintenance programs.
In 1997, council rates increased by 6.8 per cent, 6 per cent in 1998 and now 2 per cent in 1999. Mrs Higgins described the Budget as very responsible and manageable with money being spent on essentials.
'It's simply to maintain and provide the services that we expect of the town. We are loathe to see an increase in rates but we can't afford to cut services any more than we do,' she said.
She described the council's allocation of money toward the footpath program and enhancement program of the town as particularly pleasing.
'The footpaths are a very big issue with the rate payers. Council is endeavouring to address their concerns,' she said.
She said the enhancement program would look at putting entry statements to the town.
'It all costs, you either let standards slip or you stand up for what you generally believe in and make the town as attractive as you can,' she said.
While Cr. Crosby accepted the rates had dropped compared with previous years, he said he still voted for a zero increase in this year's rates.
'I was hoping it will be a zero increase so the average over the past few years would reduce and bring us more in line with what would be the norm,' he said.
He said business people complained to him about the rates they had to pay on top of all their other costs.
'Business people are very generous to all the community groups, there's only so much money going around and you can't have everything,' he said.
'While we need rates to provide the community facilities we've got to bear in mind what people are paying in addition to that, it's still coming out of their pockets.'