It is that time of the year when you receive your Local Government Council Rate
Notice/ Tax Invoice for the Financial Year July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018.
Here is a cautionary tale of two invoices for two properties in two separate locations. The financial calculations are based on the contents of these invoices and are undisputable. In layman’s terms the massive discrepancy can best be illustrated by the following- one man has a car valued at $30,000 and his annual insurance premium is $1,150. Another has a car valued at $60,000 but pays just $1,000 for insurance. It is as simple as that, easy to explain, hard to understand other than it sucks.
YIN-One domestic property is located in a quiet cul-de-sac in a medium density, medium income suburb 20k’s from the centre of Perth.
In size- the suburb is similar to the York town-site and has close to every social amenity under the sun.
Its facilities range from aromatherapy shops to restaurants, cafes, shopping centres, fast food outlets, all health care facilities, playgrounds, sporting fields and open space areas, to crèches for youngsters and lots of outdoor summer yoga. Walking is also a favourite pastime of choice.
For all residents- two railway stations are within easy walking distance, buses abound, so do taxis and Uber and a freeway is just next door.
Records show there is little violence, theft or noisy neighbours.
The suburb came into existence thirty-years ago, but already there are regular sightings of ‘mummy bumps’, a new generation of occupied prams and strollers parading up and down the urban streets and kindergarten enrolments are booked 12-months in advance.
The property itself is a semi-detached duplex on a 570 m/s2 block. It is not glamorous, but comfortable with three bedrooms, one bathroom and two toilets with all modern conveniences.
Because of the block size it features the latest design, one bedroom, one bathroom ‘Granny Flat’ with an ultra-modern kitchen.
Even in WA’s depressed housing market it is valued from $620,000 to $650,000, and would take about six-weeks to sell in this suburb- in this price range.
YIN’S total rate invoice is over $330 per annum less than the other property and you can win up to $60,000 in prizes, including a 4WD if you pay in full by a designated date. Living in Yin is convenient.
YANG-The other domestic property is located at the junction of two suburban roads in a medium to low density, lower household income town- 97 k’s from Perth.
The number of social amenities and commercial and public facilities could be considered adequate-but limited.
There is no internal public transport.
Statistics show that drug possession and threatening behaviour is above the WA average, but in the main there is little noise pollution other than, allegedly, from specific commercial premises.
The town is 156-years older than the suburb, its population on average is 15-years older and population growth could best be considered as limited by comparison.
The property is located on a 1900 m/s2 block and offers the charm of yesteryear.
It has three bedrooms, a sleep-out, two bathrooms, one with a spa-bath, three showers, three toilets, a media/TV room, an office, polished floorboards, high ceilings, reverse cycle air-conditioning and a new kitchen with dinette, a formal dining room and formal lounge. (This is not a sales pitch!)
At best its market value would be $320,000 to $350,000 and would take many months to sell at this price range even at around half the Perth suburb’s property valuation.
Living here, in YANG, is very much a lovely ambience/quiet, sedentary lifestyle by choice.
The argument is the exorbitant inequity in rates levied by YANG compared to YIN.
Unless the Shire of York is totally stupid it is aware that its rates sit at nearly 15% higher than on domestic properties in a medium density, medium income Perth suburb. It cannot dispute this figure.
It should also be very much aware that rates in the Perth suburb are 2% or less of household income whereas in York rates sit at 5% plus of the same. It cannot dispute this figure either.
Nor can it refute the fact that there is an enormous gap between house prices in York, compared to Perth, which was not there a decade ago.
And of course the current annual cost of staff, as a ratio to any overt improvement in the quality of so called ‘community and lifestyle’ is not an abstraction (ideas rather than events) because the community is provided with neither good ideas- or good events- by the Shire.
The ratio between wage costs compared to rate returns, compared to positive commercial end- results does not compute.
Given any form of calculation this York rates impost is unfair, unjust and unsustainable. Despite all of this over-rating -if the Shire of York fails to receive more than 70% of rates in any given year, which is happening now, it could be broke by the end of this decade. Its only choices will be large future rate hikes- or to sell what assets it can.
The main problem was, and is, the York Recreation and Convention Centre. This includes its poor concept and design, initial cost and running costs that were never properly calculated by a whole-of-life estimate of total outlay- including cost of community investment to financial return.
Added to this debacle was the continuous syphoning of funds from other necessary projects to this failing facility- which now require a massive, continuous funding input (such as local road maintenance.)
The whole project reeks of near criminal neglect in any form of duty-of-care, both then and now, and is a rate-payer rip-off of the first magnitude.
There is cold comfort in how the current Council is now handling this out-of-control situation.
Despite coming up with three business plans, with two of them that will not work, it still has to rely on expensive expertise to basically make a decision that Council should already have the ability to make. (The problem came to light in 2013-2014.)
That is if this administration has anywhere near the required business acumen and planning ability it is supposed to have.
Unfortunately the plan most likely to work, to some degree, has the former Shire President, Pat Hooper, front and centre, hovering around a still rate-payer funded, benevolently malevolent ‘cookie jar’ he helped create.
It also appears that any future decision this Shire makes will come at the extra cost to the ratepayer for outside expert evaluation along with extreme, expensive delays in the decision-making process even if, in this case, the YRCC is to be shut down.
Facts are facts. It costs local ratepayers 15% more, per annum, to live on their property in York than it would in many middle and outer suburbs of Perth.
They have to pay these rates from only half the household income of one particular Perth suburb which is averaged at $89,000 per-annum.
The Shire of York’s community communications system is still based on telling you what it wants you to know, not what you should know.
The Shire also has a heavy reliance on outside help. Over the years the various attempts at providing a successful business model for the YRCC, that remains unknown, and all associated losses has cost York ratepayers a sum that will never be revealed by the Shire.
Here is a cautionary tale of two invoices for two properties in two separate locations. The financial calculations are based on the contents of these invoices and are undisputable. In layman’s terms the massive discrepancy can best be illustrated by the following- one man has a car valued at $30,000 and his annual insurance premium is $1,150. Another has a car valued at $60,000 but pays just $1,000 for insurance. It is as simple as that, easy to explain, hard to understand other than it sucks.
YIN-One domestic property is located in a quiet cul-de-sac in a medium density, medium income suburb 20k’s from the centre of Perth.
In size- the suburb is similar to the York town-site and has close to every social amenity under the sun.
Its facilities range from aromatherapy shops to restaurants, cafes, shopping centres, fast food outlets, all health care facilities, playgrounds, sporting fields and open space areas, to crèches for youngsters and lots of outdoor summer yoga. Walking is also a favourite pastime of choice.
For all residents- two railway stations are within easy walking distance, buses abound, so do taxis and Uber and a freeway is just next door.
Records show there is little violence, theft or noisy neighbours.
The suburb came into existence thirty-years ago, but already there are regular sightings of ‘mummy bumps’, a new generation of occupied prams and strollers parading up and down the urban streets and kindergarten enrolments are booked 12-months in advance.
The property itself is a semi-detached duplex on a 570 m/s2 block. It is not glamorous, but comfortable with three bedrooms, one bathroom and two toilets with all modern conveniences.
Because of the block size it features the latest design, one bedroom, one bathroom ‘Granny Flat’ with an ultra-modern kitchen.
Even in WA’s depressed housing market it is valued from $620,000 to $650,000, and would take about six-weeks to sell in this suburb- in this price range.
YIN’S total rate invoice is over $330 per annum less than the other property and you can win up to $60,000 in prizes, including a 4WD if you pay in full by a designated date. Living in Yin is convenient.
YANG-The other domestic property is located at the junction of two suburban roads in a medium to low density, lower household income town- 97 k’s from Perth.
The number of social amenities and commercial and public facilities could be considered adequate-but limited.
There is no internal public transport.
Statistics show that drug possession and threatening behaviour is above the WA average, but in the main there is little noise pollution other than, allegedly, from specific commercial premises.
The town is 156-years older than the suburb, its population on average is 15-years older and population growth could best be considered as limited by comparison.
The property is located on a 1900 m/s2 block and offers the charm of yesteryear.
It has three bedrooms, a sleep-out, two bathrooms, one with a spa-bath, three showers, three toilets, a media/TV room, an office, polished floorboards, high ceilings, reverse cycle air-conditioning and a new kitchen with dinette, a formal dining room and formal lounge. (This is not a sales pitch!)
At best its market value would be $320,000 to $350,000 and would take many months to sell at this price range even at around half the Perth suburb’s property valuation.
Living here, in YANG, is very much a lovely ambience/quiet, sedentary lifestyle by choice.
The argument is the exorbitant inequity in rates levied by YANG compared to YIN.
Unless the Shire of York is totally stupid it is aware that its rates sit at nearly 15% higher than on domestic properties in a medium density, medium income Perth suburb. It cannot dispute this figure.
It should also be very much aware that rates in the Perth suburb are 2% or less of household income whereas in York rates sit at 5% plus of the same. It cannot dispute this figure either.
Nor can it refute the fact that there is an enormous gap between house prices in York, compared to Perth, which was not there a decade ago.
And of course the current annual cost of staff, as a ratio to any overt improvement in the quality of so called ‘community and lifestyle’ is not an abstraction (ideas rather than events) because the community is provided with neither good ideas- or good events- by the Shire.
The ratio between wage costs compared to rate returns, compared to positive commercial end- results does not compute.
Given any form of calculation this York rates impost is unfair, unjust and unsustainable. Despite all of this over-rating -if the Shire of York fails to receive more than 70% of rates in any given year, which is happening now, it could be broke by the end of this decade. Its only choices will be large future rate hikes- or to sell what assets it can.
The main problem was, and is, the York Recreation and Convention Centre. This includes its poor concept and design, initial cost and running costs that were never properly calculated by a whole-of-life estimate of total outlay- including cost of community investment to financial return.
Added to this debacle was the continuous syphoning of funds from other necessary projects to this failing facility- which now require a massive, continuous funding input (such as local road maintenance.)
The whole project reeks of near criminal neglect in any form of duty-of-care, both then and now, and is a rate-payer rip-off of the first magnitude.
There is cold comfort in how the current Council is now handling this out-of-control situation.
Despite coming up with three business plans, with two of them that will not work, it still has to rely on expensive expertise to basically make a decision that Council should already have the ability to make. (The problem came to light in 2013-2014.)
That is if this administration has anywhere near the required business acumen and planning ability it is supposed to have.
Unfortunately the plan most likely to work, to some degree, has the former Shire President, Pat Hooper, front and centre, hovering around a still rate-payer funded, benevolently malevolent ‘cookie jar’ he helped create.
It also appears that any future decision this Shire makes will come at the extra cost to the ratepayer for outside expert evaluation along with extreme, expensive delays in the decision-making process even if, in this case, the YRCC is to be shut down.
Facts are facts. It costs local ratepayers 15% more, per annum, to live on their property in York than it would in many middle and outer suburbs of Perth.
They have to pay these rates from only half the household income of one particular Perth suburb which is averaged at $89,000 per-annum.
The Shire of York’s community communications system is still based on telling you what it wants you to know, not what you should know.
The Shire also has a heavy reliance on outside help. Over the years the various attempts at providing a successful business model for the YRCC, that remains unknown, and all associated losses has cost York ratepayers a sum that will never be revealed by the Shire.
An educated guess would be anywhere between
$3 and $10 million.
So what does the Chinese YIN YANG philosophy mean? Basically, that black and white can be interrelated and complimentary.
In this scenario it is not so.
A Shire of York made a decision to build a massive monument to its own ego through malfeasance that placed the town in a parlous financial position.
This Shire of York has shown itself to be incapable of making its own decision on how to deal with a situation it is paid to deal with. So from now on, each year, York ratepayers will have to cough up around $300 more than much of WA’s domestic ratepayer community with no added value to reasonable community expectations.
Until all this changes rapidly- York will go nowhere fast!
David Taylor.
So what does the Chinese YIN YANG philosophy mean? Basically, that black and white can be interrelated and complimentary.
In this scenario it is not so.
A Shire of York made a decision to build a massive monument to its own ego through malfeasance that placed the town in a parlous financial position.
This Shire of York has shown itself to be incapable of making its own decision on how to deal with a situation it is paid to deal with. So from now on, each year, York ratepayers will have to cough up around $300 more than much of WA’s domestic ratepayer community with no added value to reasonable community expectations.
Until all this changes rapidly- York will go nowhere fast!
David Taylor.
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