How your rates are spent

Council provides more than 50 services to 98,000 residents – all funded by rates, charges, fees, grants and loans.

Rates also pay for services and infrastructure for individual properties, such as water and sewerage.

How every $100 you pay in rates and annual charges is spent

Council Matters icon 01 - sewers
Sewer services $20
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Roads, transport, drainage and flooding $17
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Waste management and recycling $16
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Administrative support services $12
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Water supply (excluding water supply charges $9
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Parks, sports fields, open space and aquatic centres $8
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Community buildings, services, libraries, art and culture $6
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Planning, building, compliance, and emergency management $6
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Environment and sustainability $3
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Customer service, community engagement, communications and civic services $3
  Total $100

What do my rates pay for?

Rates help to pay for your local services:

Services

  • Waste collection, recycling and street cleaning
  • Water and wastewater treatment plants
  • Water reservoirs, mains and supply network including pumping stations
  • Wastewater pumping stations and mains
  • Local roads, bridges, footpaths, kerb and guttering, signage and drainage maintenance and cycleways
  • Parks, playgrounds, gardens, sports fields, aquatic facilities, skateparks and reserves
  • Libraries and a range of community services (for elderly and youth)
  • Community festivals arts and cultural assistance, and visitor information centre
  • Town planning, landscaping, development applications / building inspections / construction certificates
  • Ranger services, including dog control
  • Strategic planning for the future
  • Food shop inspections
  • Environmental management
  • Noxious weeds eradication
  • Community facilities
  • Services to the aged and youth
  • Bus shelters
  • Traffic management

See Council services.

Rates also help to pay for assets and facilities worth more than $3 billion:

Council assets

  • 1079 km of sealed roads, 164 km of unsealed roads
  • 210 km of footpaths, 790 km of kerb and gutters
  • 5,678 street lights
  • 208 concrete bridges, 35 wooden bridges
  • 99 car park areas
  • 376 km of drainage, 10.4 km of levee banks
  • 400 flood gates
  • Clarrie Hall Dam and 2 weirs
  • 3 water treatment plants and 8 wastewater treatment plants
  • 43 reservoirs
  • 28 water and 185 wastewater pump stations
  • 716 km of water mains and 700 km of sewer mains
  • 33 community buildings and three community centres
  • regional art gallery and museum
  • 3 libraries and 2 civic centres
  • 37 sports fields
  • 378 parks, 82 playgrounds
  • 78 picnic areas with barbecues in 39 Council parks
  • 3 aquatic centres
  • maintenance of public toilets, amenity blocks
  • 11 cemeteries.