LOGAN Council will urge other Queensland councils to join its push for a tighter state government fee deadline at this month’s Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) conference.
The council on Wednesday resolved to submit a motion to the LGAQ, calling on the Queensland Government to adopt and advise councils of all utility, electricity and bulk water charges by March 31 each year.
The new motion follows council’s initial LGAQ submission calling for changes to the Local Government Act 2009 to give councils power to increase rates during the financial year.
Council withdrew that motion today in favour of what Mayor Pam Parker labelled a “safer” course of action.
Cr Parker said council’s initial proposal sought to eliminate problems that arose when the Queensland Government handed down its budget after council.
“This year with our budget we had a situation where we had to adopt it without knowing what the bulk water charges were and we adopted it in good faith,” she said.
“Had we had to make an amendment to our budget, it would have been a situation… that might not have been held up in a court of law.”
Cr Parker said in recent years, council had been forced to manage various late changes to utility pricing.
She said while council’s original motion would have provided a legislated process for council to amend its budget, council had now decided a tighter fee deadline was “a better way of resolving the issue”.
“I think if we put forward this motion it will be well supported by all the councils in Queensland because they want to know what their utility charges are so they can put their budget together,” she said.
“I think it’s a far safer way of doing it, it gives me a lot more peace of mind as Mayor and I think we can achieve the outcomes we were all desiring.”
All Queensland councils will vote on the motion during the 2015 LGAQ conference, being held in Toowoomba from October 19-21.
