The current draft differential rating guidelines is pockmarked by serious shortcomings and more must be done to develop ratings strategies, according to the Municipal Association of Victoria’s (MAV) submission to the State Government.

MAV President, Cr Bill McArthur, said that it was deeply troubling that the proposed guidelines seeks to impose prescriptive rules beyond the power of the Minister.

“The MAV is supportive of efforts to provide more guidance to councils in their treatment of differential rates,” Cr McArthur said.

“However, if the Victorian Government wishes to deliver meaningful support to councils, the Ministerial Guidelines should focus on pricing policy, including best practice rating strategies. 

“The non-discretionary rules that have been drafted in the guidelines appear to restrict the autonomy of councils in raising rates revenue.

Currently, local government accounts for 3.5 per cent of all taxation revenue, a historical high.

Cr McArthur said the MAV had urged the Government to seize the opportunity to provide greater support to councils in developing their broader rating strategies in line with recent Auditor General recommendations.

“Encouraging rating strategy best practice is a far more beneficial project than attempting to constrain councils’ use of differential rates to fix a perceived problem in some areas of the community,” Cr McArthur said.