Newsletter Century 21 Douglas Rate Payers cop 11 per cent Slug

Many of our clients and potential buyers comment on the high rates in and around Port Douglas, often the sentiment expressed is that the Cairns Regional Council perceives Port Douglas and surrounds purely as a cash cow for Cairns.

Granted it is hard for local residents to see where our rate dollar is being spent, especially when the Cairns Regional Council dedicate a full "Noticeboard" page in our weekly local paper to inform us about upgrades in Edmonton and Gordonvale, some 100kms from Port Douglas.

For your information we have with the permission of The Port Douglas and Mossman Gazette reproduced the article relating to further rate rises in our region.

If you are as outraged about the latest increases as we are please contact our one and only Council Representative Julia Leu on 07 4099 9444 or email your thoughts to council@cairns.qld.gov.au

SOURCE: The Port Douglas and Mossman Gazette

DATE: 10 JULY 2008

HEADLINE: DOUGLAS RATEPAYERS COP 11 PER CENT SLUG

STORY: Douglas homeowners can expect to pay nearly 11 percent more in rates this year under the Cairns Regional Council after the axing of the former Douglas Shire’s early payment discount.

While the actual rate rise is 4 per cent, the scrapping of the discount will actually hit local ratepayers in the pocket harder when it’s time to pay their bill. More than four out of every five Douglas ratepayers last year took advantage of the early-bird ten per cent rates discount. In Cairns city it was five per cent before also being scratched under the impending budget.

In a preliminary budget release on Monday, council CEO Noel Briggs said most people would be aware that in offering a discount, council had already factored in the increase for standard rate charges.

A user pays system for water will also be introduced in the Douglas region, but council is yet to release full details. Douglas pensioners have also had their council pensioner rates remission cut from $315 to $260.

A council spokesman said with changes to the water charging scheme he believed pensioners would be nearly $80 a year better off.

Under the new minimum general residential rate, council predicted Douglas residents’ charges would rise by about $3 a week, including an extra 35 cents for rubbish.

Division 10 councillor Julia Leu said she was pleased the new budget would not see Douglas residents slugged with the same inflated Cleaner Seas fees as Cairns ratepayers. “I am disappointed with the loss of the (early payment) discount and not all the councillors supported losing the discount,” Cr Leu said. “I hope it won’t turn out to be a false economy.”

The full budget is due on Wednesday, July 23.

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Newsletter Century 21 Douglas Rate Payers cop 11 per cent Slug

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