2021-06-16 Special Meeting Agenda

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA                                                                    16 JUNE 2021


Submission Topic   Detail
                   Submission 4

                   Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft budget. My comments are as
                   below.
                   1. The introduction of a bushfire resilience and response levy is not supported. This
                        is not new Council business and should be funded by a rise in general rates if
                        there is a need to improve or expand services. Otherwise the community needs
                        to know just exactly what is this levy paying for over and above the existing fire
                        and response services and budget?             Levies increase complexity and
                        administration costs and hide rate rises. While recognising this and simplifying
                        some aspects of the rates in other parts of the 2021/2 budget Council is
                        simultaneously adding more complexity by introducing yet another levy.

                   2.   The introduction of new rating categories for transitory accommodation (short
                        stay) properties is supported, but the rise is not commensurate with the nature of
                        the properties and should be more. They are a business and should be paying
                        commercial rates. The rise should be commensurate with the costs Council will
                        incur when the new local law is adopted, as well as the increased demand on
                        Council services and infrastructure.

                   3.   Council’s intentions regarding tourism budget are unclear in the material provided
                        online, which raises more questions rather than providing information.

                   The current arrangements for the Tourism Levy certainly need review, and it is hoped
                   that the agreement with Tourism Noosa will be significantly changed when it comes up
                   for review. Transferring these levy funds to a self- interested, industry organisation that
                   has no transparency or responsibility to the community and no Council input might have
                   been appropriate in a time when tourism in Noosa was struggling to gain its footing,
                   but inappropriate in 2021/22 when little promotion is necessary, when the tourism
                   industry is placing a massive burden on liveability and services and infrastructure in
                   the shire, and where changes in direction in promotion might have adverse impacts on
                   Council and community.

                   Council’s ‘core business’ in relation to tourism is its role as destination manager, and
                   this uses a very significant portion of its resources in the form of infrastructure and
                   maintenance costs, which are primarily paid for by non-tourism ratepayers who are
                   increasingly affected adversely by the expansion of tourism. The tourism levy and the
                   tourism industry should contribute more to that purpose than ordinary ratepayers.
                   Applying the levy funds to more than just granting them to an opaque organisation for
                   tourism promotion would be a beginning.

                   The notion that tourism ‘promotion’ is core Council business is not supported. The ‘levy’
                   or a differential rate for tourism businesses needs to remain as a recognition of the
                   burden tourism places on services and infrastructure for the Council as destination
                   manager, but promotion should be the realm of a non-Council tourism organisation
                   self-funded from membership fees.

                   Submission 5

                   RE: Noosa Council Draft Budget 2021-22 Draft Budget information sheet 3 - Proposed
                   changes to General Rates and Levies, and section 2 under Levies:

                   NSRRA supports this proposal but has some concerns. NSRRA concerns relate to:
                   ‘Tourism promotion and economic development activities have evolved into core
                   Council business. As such it is now considered that tourism and economic
                   development activities should be funded by general rates (applied only to those
                   properties who are currently paying the levy) rather than through the continuation of a
                   special levy.'



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