Monash Council has adopted a 10 percent waiver on council rates for the 2020/21 financial year to support the 81,319 ratepayers during the COVID-19 crisis.
The council adopted the waiver as part its budget meeting for the coming year on Tuesday, 25 August.
Monash Mayor Stuart James said the budget was unlike any other passed before COVID-19.
“We know everyone in our community is doing it tough. Some have lost jobs, others have businesses that are threatened and all of us are anxious about what’s going to happen. That’s why this waiver applies to all ratepayers in Monash, because everyone is impacted in some way,” said Councillor James.
“At the time, we put this proposal forward in our draft budget in June, we had not gone into the second lockdown and families and business were already under severe pressure. The second lockdown has increased that pressure significantly, reinforcing our belief that this is the right decision to make to support ratepayers at this incredibly difficult time and return some money to their pocket”.
READ MORE: Monash rates waiver would help businesses more if it was higher: Sfrantzis
The council extended its hardship policy to allow any ratepayer affected by COVID-19 to apply to defer their rates payments until 20 June, 2021, without facing a penalty payment.
The council budget makes provision for a $46.2 million Capital Works Program. Thanks to the impact COVID-19 and delays to a car park project, the figure was $18.7 million less than what was allocated in the 2019/20 budget.
“Despite the challenges of COVID-19, our budget still commits to improvements to critical infrastructure and core services, recognising that these services are important to the liveability of Monash residents,” Cr James said.
