Rates across Queensland are guaranteed to rise, with the recent natural disasters pushing up council costs by an average of 7.5 per cent.
The figure is contained in a new report commissioned by the Local Government Association of Queensland.
The report says even councils that weren’t affected by the floods and Cyclone Yasi will face big hikes in costs due to the expected explosion in state-wide demand for construction resources as Queensland rebuilds.
LGAQ chief executive Greg Hallam said councils needed to take such costs into account.
“Councils were already doing it tough before these disasters came and now with reconstruction bound to drive up prices, they confront another challenge,” he said in a statement.
“They need to reconcile increased community expectations about the level of services they provide with the capacity to pay for those services.”
The local government cost index report estimated that flood and cyclone-related capital works over the next two years would add another 15 per cent to the total amount of public capital works being undertaken across the state.
“This increase in demand for construction work would be expected to have a significant impact on prices,” the report said.
“On top of this, private sector capital works will also increase.”
That was likely to result in a rise in the local government cost index of around 7.5 per cent for this year, it said. –Source