Douglas Shire Council mayor Julia Leu has defended council’s first budget, saying the per cent rate rise is ‘moderate’ considering the costs of deamalgamation. 

Commenters on the Newsport website and Facebook page, along with others on social media, have unfavourably compared the DSC’s rate rise of 5.2 per cent to the 1.5 per cent general rate rise in the Cairns Regional Council budget. 

Cr Leu said that while the CRC’s general rates rose by only 1.5 per cent, other charges such as water usage rose much higher proportionally. 

“Douglas Shire Council has delivered a budget that ensures financial, environmental and social sustainability for our communities,” Cr Leu said. 

“The rates increase is moderate considering there was no increase in rates in the first six months of the new Council, when we fully paid for de-amalgamation costs as well as significant redundancy costs forced upon us by Cairns Regional Council.

“This is of course a much better outcome than the Queensland Treasury Corporation’s prediction of rate rises totalling 28.45 per cent in the first year and 18.08 per cent for the following four years.”

“We are delivering a significant $8.9 million capital works budget in the 2014-15 financial year and working with our communities to help shape our future, giving our communities a voice they didn’t have previously.”