The council last night voted to send itsdraft business plan and budget out for public consultation on Friday with a rate rise of 5.9 per cent. 

It comes after last week’s debate about cutting funds from grants, sponsorships and strategic partnerships to achieve a 5.9 per cent rate rise, down from the 6.9 per cent first proposed. 

Councillor David Elliott said he supported trimming the “bloated” grants program. 

“It is ineffectual, it is pissing in the wind in many cases to offer up some of the meagre sums that we do to some of the things that we have to offer support to, when we have far more demonstrated, generous and effective programs offered by the state government,” he said. 

Councillors Mary Couros, Simon Hou, Henry Davis and Arman Abrahamizadeh did not vote to send the budget to public consultation. 

“I will not be voting for this tonight, the reason being is that I don’t think I could go out and look at our ratepayers in the eye and say, ‘yep, this is 100 per cent our budget, there’ll be no other cuts and you won’t be feeling any other pains’,” Couros said. 

Within the budget, the council will allocate 1.5 per cent of rates revenue to upgrade buildings in the park lands, which a community consultation in March revealed are old and inadequate. 

The funding for these upgrades will prioritise delivering fit-for-purpose toilet, shower and changeroom facilities with an emphasis on supporting inclusive community-based leaseholders. 

The council recently heard that the needs of women and children were neglected as facility upgrades hadn’t kept up with their increased participation in sports. 

This sports facility in the southern park lands has long been slated for an upgrade. Photo: Brett Hartwig/InDaily

The 1.5 per cent translates to $2.027m for 2024-25. To fund this, $0.164m will come from rates revenue, with the council needing to identify further savings of $1.863m. 

Couros said it was “appalling” that the budget would go out for consultation before the savings were identified. 

She suggested the capital works budget be considered for cuts, with artworks or upgrades that could be scaled down or pushed to next year.  

Councillor Mary Couros. Photo:
Tony Lewis/InDaily

Short-stay accommodation in the city such as Airbnb will be hit with a rate hike as the council voted to approve a land use change, meaning owners will pay a commercial rate, rather than a residential one. 

Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith said it was “levelling the playing field”.

“The way we used to think of Airbnb when it was introduced, if you’re going away for the weekend, you’ve got a spare room, you’re going on holiday, you make a bit of money on the side,” she told ABC Radio Adelaide.

“It’s not like that any more. The operators own not just one, but they own many properties. And they run it as a business. It’s a commercial operation.”

The commercial rate is about 20 per cent higher than the residential rate. Lomax-Smith said she was aware of houses like hers in her street being offered for $800 a night. Lomax-Smith said that if her council rates were $2000, an owner of short-stay accommodation would pay about $400 extra under the commercial rate.

“That’s less than one night’s stay,” she said.

“It’s not going to push anyone out of business. And even if it were passed on to the tenant or the occupier or the tourist, it’s not going to be a large amount over a year.”

But the Australian & New Zealand Short-Term Rental Association (ASTRA) said it was “seriously concerned” about the increased rate, with CEO Mitchell Price calling it “short-sighted and misjudged”.

“Our members already pay rates and contribute through the taxes they pay,” he said. 

“ASTRA represents Mum and Dad owner/investors in the short-term rental accommodation market across Australia…our member’s properties should continue to be classified residential.” 

Price said ASTRA wanted to work with the council on a registration scheme and code of conduct for short-term accommodation to raise revenue in lieu of a rate hike.