Shire of Augusta-Margaret River councillors point 15.4 per cent staff cost increase to population growth

Councillors have explained a whopping rise in the local government’s workforce costs is an unavoidable consideration as population growth and cost pressures continue to increase in the Augusta-Margaret River shire. Speaking at last Wednesday night’s meeting, councillors welcomed the latest budget despite the stiff rise in costs, pleased that requests for a balanced budget with reduced carryovers had mostly been achieved. However, population growth was front and centre in the discussion amid revelations the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures confirmed a 26 per cent population increase since the 2016 census. “That is increased pressure on our services and assets,” Shire president Julia Meldrum said. The president said it was the council’s role to ensure the local government was adequately resourced. This year’s 4.9 per cent rates increase will add about $1.9 million to the coffers, but this will be eclipsed by rising staff costs, estimated to increase by more than $2.9m in 2024-25. Little comment was made on the 15.4 per cent jump in the Shire’s staff costs that included a 4.5 per cent pay rise despite the latest wage agreement not being finalised. “That part of the budget, it is what it is,” Ms Meldrum said. “Our staff are part of an EBA.” Cr Ian Earl also defended this year’s projected surplus, noting it was better to be in surplus than deficit. “We are a rapidly growing shire,” he said. “That’s starting to compound.” Deputy shire president Tracey Muir said budget workshops in the past months had focused on cost pressures. “It really has highlighted to me the responsibility we have to lower our costs,” she said. “Otherwise, it has flow-on effects for future generations.” In a formal statement after the meeting, Ms Meldrum said the “rigorous budgeting process” sought to balance community needs with realism, guided by the shire’s Strategic Community Plan 2040. “Above all, we want our shire to be a great place to live and for our growing community to have access to the services and facilities they expect and deserve,” she said. “We’ve undertaken regular workshops between councillors and shire staff since April to carefully consider the level of investment we need from the community via rates to deliver the projects and services that everyone wants. “Of course, we can’t do everything at once, so we’ve workshopped what we can do now and what we’ll do in future years.” Ms Meldrum said It was also expected increased advocacy would lead to a funding bump from State and Federal governments as lobbying efforts ramped up. “We need the State and Federal government to make a bigger investment in our shire because our community and environment just can’t sustain the impact of increased tourism and population growth,” she said. Commonwealth tax distributions to local governments had halved in the past 30 years, Ms Meldrum said. “We want funding levels returned to historical levels, plus more funding for local governments who, like us, host tourists, because our ratepayers should not be subsidising the cost of facilities which are enjoyed by visitors and local alike,” she said.