Perth Voice Interactive

Traders cop rates whack

BUSINESSES in Vincent are copping a whack from the council this year, with rates to jump 8.5 per cent.

Residents, however, will breathe a sigh of relief, with a relatively modest 2.78 per cent increase.

But motorists face hikes, with parking fees across Vincent set to rise 20 cents an hour.

And owners of modest properties face higher costs too: Vincent’s minimum rates are skyrocketing nearly 30 per cent, from $700 to $900.

Scrimping and saving and the higher fees and charges under new CEO Len Kosova, plus the $2.5 million sale of the old Angove Street police station, sees the Vincent budget back in the black.

That represents a stunning turnaround from last year’s administrative cock-up which saw the council heading towards an $8 million deficit.

Former councillor Dudley Maier stood up in the public gallery this week to describe the move to slug business as “a classic case of populism”, noting business-people rarely vote and there are far more residents.

He says it would be equitable to slug businesses half as much.

But mayor John Carey says in previous years businesses been given an easy ride and needed to make up ground.

Last year 89 per cent of commercial/industrial properties suffered no rate rise at all, and a chunk saw a decrease.

The mayor says parking fees in Vincent need to keep pace with Perth, otherwise Vincent [will] become the carpark for the CBD” leaving residents and local shoppers no space.

by DAVID BELL