There’s been a lot of comparisons between Moreton Bay Regional Council and Brisbane City Council in terms of rates and what is provided for them.
For 2011-12 Moreton Bay rates are set to increase $50.89 on average and Brisbane City Council’s are set to increase $21.33 on average.
It is important also to be aware of how they are spent.
Arana Hills and Ferny Hills are now out at an extreme edge of Moreton Bay Regional Council; while Upper Kedron and Ferny Grove (and to a lesser degree Keperra) are at an extreme edge of Brisbane City Council.
The bigger issue with rates might well be that we “export” rates to the ‘city centre developments’ for both councils. We need good data and information to know what is spent locally.
Here’s a question: How much is collected in rates from The Grove? And how much is spent in The Grove?
So far Cr Brian Battersby of Moreton Bay Regional Council has been very ready to provide information to his local ratepayers about what is spent locally. We haven’t been able to get this information (or anything even close to it) from Brisbane City Councillor Cr Andrew Wines.
Neither are providing information about what is collected in rates (so we can see whether we are getting what we pay spent in our local area).