By SONJA KOREMANS
THE region’s elderly will be hardest hit by the rates and charges hike, with pensioners fearing they will pay up to $400 a year more under the changes.
The Southern Downs Regional Council’s budget includes a 4 per cent general rate rise, and a 10 per cent increase for water, waste water and waste services.
On top of the charges, the 7.5 per cent discount for early payment no longer applies for water and sewerage.
Warwick Senior Citizens spokesman Mick McEniery said pensioners would struggle to find the extra money.
“A few hundred dollars might not seem like a lot, but it means the world to seniors, and they make up a large proportion of the Southern Downs population, about 30 per cent,” Mr McEniery said.
Pensioners were likely to economise by cutting back on food, medication, heating and transport, Mr McEniery said.
Deputy Mayor Ross Bartley said the inequity of the new rates and fees schedule meant some ratepayers faced heftier costs than others, with pensioners likely to be the budget’s biggest casualty.
“What has been delivered is the equivalent to about a 10 per cent rate rise. We could have spread the burden more equally,” Cr Bartley said.
Killarney and Stanthorpe residents face about a 14 per cent overall rise, he said.
Pensioners are entitled to a rates subsidy under the State Government, but Cr Bartley said the subsidy might not be retained indefinitely, and pensioners would have already factored in the benefit.
The budget passed six votes to three, with councillors Bartley, Jamie Mackenzie and Vic Pennisi voting against.
Cr Mackenzie said the budget needed cuts to top administration costs.
“I did not agree with unsubstantiated expenses, ranging from tourism budgets, consultants fees, councillor conferences, planning legal fees and more,” Cr Mackenzie said.
Among the highlights of the budget is a $19.4 million capital works allocation for improving roads, bridges, water infrastructure and community buildings.
There are no planned borrowings for the 2015-’16 year.
