AS SWAN Hill Rural City Council prepares to adopt its 2013/2014 budget on
Tuesday, Councillor John Katis has already expressed concerns, labelling a plan
to lower rates for dryland farmers as “discriminatory and unfair”.
Cr Katis
said while he had no bones to pick with dryland farmers, he felt it was unfair
they should receive a discount when the wider farming community was also
experiencing difficulties.
“I drive up and down the highway and see vines
that still have grapes hanging on them,” Cr Katis said.
“Yet there is no
relief for them.”
He said it was a similar situation for the dry fruit and
stone fruit industry, and felt the move to provide discounted rates for one
sector of the farming industry over another was unfair.
“At the end of the
day I want to see an even playing field,” he said.
Cr Katis said he would
like to see differential rates scrapped from council’s draft budget this
year.
“Rates are wealth taxed and if that is the case we should all pay our
fair share,” he said.
The Robinvale representative said he also had some
issues with council’s proposed capital expenditure and major projects which were
outlined in this year’s proposed budget, in particular the $941,825 which was
set aside for the Robinvale Retarding Basin.
Cr Katis said for various
reasons, it was unlikely this project would get up and running this financial
year.
Rather than allow this $900,000 project to sit idle, Cr Katis said
another project should be rolled forward to take priority.
These comments
emerged as a result of Cr Katis’ plight to have a toilet block installed at a
Robinvale sports ground.
While money for the toilet block has been allocated
in the 2014/2015 budget, Cr Katis said he could not understand why this project
could not be pushed forward and receive priority over the proposed retarding
basin, which would not go ahead this financial year.
For more of this story, see Monday’s Guardian (July 29).
