REDLAND City Council water users will pay an extra 1 per cent for their water services, despite the state government jacking up the price it charges council for water by 10 per cent.
Mayor Karen Williams said despite the increase, Redland users would still be getting the cheapest water in south east Queensland.
Council sets the price for water distribution, retail and sewerage, which is capped at 2.35 per cent for the next financial year.
The state sets the remainder of a household water and sewerage bill, known as the bulk water price.
Cr Williams took aim at councillors who said the budget’s low rates increase was due to the return of revenue from the water business.
“We’ve absorbed the state government 10 per cent increase and we’ve done that by reducing the price of council’s retail component by 30 per cent,” Cr Williams said.
“This (budget) is virtually a rates freeze when you take out waste and water charges.
“So all we can assume is that those who opposed it are in favour of future rates hikes.”
But Division 1 councillor Wendy Boglary disagreed and said finding budget savings to keep rates low was a goal for all councillors.
She said she was surprised a predicted June 30, 2015 surplus of about $10million was not higher after council received an extra $30million in revenue from its water business and axed $9million in waste remediation works.
"The $10million is not a real surplus and is more due to cancellation of works and the huge amount of revenue from water," Cr Boglary said.
“With the revenue raised, there has to be fair and equitable spread across the city on spending priorities for roads, footpaths, marine infrastructure, asset management and other projects.
“I didn't vote for this budget as the capital works program was a political move not a prioritisation of much-needed work.
“Money raised from overcharging water users was today shown to be $13,118,989 in the water reserve account.
"That extra money was only placed into that reserve after I questioned where the overcharged money was and asked for the account to be set up for transparency."
Division 2 councillor Craig Ogilvie said the council had benefited from 100 percent increases in water revenues which it was now using for the broader business.
"The real issue here is how this council has borrowed from future water revenues as well in order to make the broader business roll on."
Last week, Water Supply Minister Mark Bailey said the overall impact on a typical Redland household’s total water and sewerage bill was likely to be 2 per cent if council froze the retail component of a water bill.
