Yarra City Councillors faced a hostile crowd last night as they voted six to three in favour of a separate waste charge – joining 78 other Victorian councils in doing so.
It was standing room only at the Richmond Town Hall, as around 60 residents addressed the proposed new bin tax, while more than 100 protested outside the building.
Councillor Stephen Jolly, who is opposed to the separation of the waste charge, said the residents were ignored.
“These [councillors] were just cold, just said, ‘no, sorry, we’re going to put our extra spending onto your backs,” he told Channel 9 this morning.
“Those councillors have just guaranteed themselves defeat at next year’s election,” he warned.
Earlier, Cr Jolly had spoken to residents gathered outside the town hall.
“Any councillor tonight that votes for the bin tax, they will be binned at elections next year,” he told the crowd, to which residents chanted “bin the tax”.
Six councillors voted in favour of the waste charge, saying the move brought the Council in line with others across the state.
In meeting agenda papers, Council’s acting general manager of corporate services, Wei Chen, stated that waste and recycling costs were continually outpacing the city’s rate cap.
“This increase is well above the amount councils can raise through rates alone,” Chen stated in the document.
Council’s annual waste bill has reportedly increased 90% over the past three years to $1.8 million.
The separated waste charge will see an increase of between $12 and $115 for residents who receive kerbside bin collection.
The Council is no stranger to headlines over its financial decisions. A municipal monitor publicly documented his concerns over the state of the Council’s financial sustainability back in 2021. Council’s finances are now annually audited by Victoria’s Auditor-General.
