Shire of Augusta-Margaret River to form ‘revenue diversification’ project team for increased income

The council has approved the formation of a project team to look into more ways for the local government to make money — though what that actually entails remains vague.

Councillors last week unanimously approved an officer-led “revenue diversification” project designed to find additional revenue sources to meet the region’s soaring costs.

Part of that project will involve looking at what other local governments do to harness income beyond their reliance on rates.

And while councillors said it was important to look for money beyond taxing ratepayers, the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River has not clarified its intentions around fine detail in its report involving fees and charges.

In the 2022-23 financial year, 58 per cent of the Shire’s income was derived from rates, comparable to Broome, but slightly lower than neighbouring local governments including Busselton and Capel.

Fees and charges were the second biggest income stream, accounting for 29 per cent of income from fees including waste collection, recreation services, caravan parks, permits, licences and building development applications.

“Opportunity exists to identify ways in which existing revenue streams can be optimised and to explore alternative revenue streams that might complement existing Shire revenues, reducing reliance on rate revenues to fund future growth and evolving community needs,” the report said.

However, the report also “envisaged that the main sources of revenue for the Shire will continue to be council rates, fees and charges and grant revenue”.

Under the headline of “advocacy,” the report noted the potential to lobby the State Government on the criteria for ratings exemptions and “the capped fees and charges legislated for certain services required to be offered by local governments”.

Shire corporate and customer services director Mel Stevens did not directly scotch questions about whether the project could lead to an increase in costs charged to ratepayers and residents.

“Through the project we hope to identify examples which align to priorities outlined in the Strategic Community Plan and consider if there are opportunities to optimise existing sources of revenue,” she said.

“The Shire of Augusta-Margaret River is financially sound, but our reliance on rates revenues limits our capacity to deliver and develop services and infrastructure for the benefit of our permanent residents as well as tourists and seasonal workers.

“We want to investigate how other local governments address similar challenges to identify potential opportunities to fund the growing and evolving needs of our community.”