Freeze over with hikes to parking charges, fines and rates

Living and parking in Melbourne is set to get more expensive, with the City of Melbourne hiking rates and charges by 8.49 per cent after a one-year rate freeze.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece promised a “rate freeze” for one year when he was elected; however, this was only a one-year discount, with revenue from rates set to increase to $429 million, up from $394 million.

There will be an average rate rise of 2.75 per cent, following a full rebate on the previous year’s 3 per cent increase.

The council will also increase parking fees and fines to balance the books in this year’s $804 million budget.

Parking fees across the city centre are going up, and revenue from them will increase by 23 per cent to $70.3 million this coming year, up from a budgeted $55.6 million last financial year.

The increases come despite Lord Mayor Nick Reece promising when he was elected that there would be no increase in on-street parking fees in the four years of his term.

The council will also bring in $42.8 million from parking fines, a 6 per cent increase on the $40.2 million in revenue last year.

The increases are enabling the council to forecast a $1.2 million surplus, marking a “hat trick” of three consecutive surpluses.

The City of Melbourne also plans to reduce debt to $60 million by the end of the council term, with a goal to be debt-free by 2032.

The budget will see double the number of “community safety officers” from the current number of 11 to 22.

Reece campaigned strongly on crime and safety at the 2024 council election and pledged to institute a 30-person city safety officer team wearing Kevlar vests and with body cams.

Tuesday’s budget sees that vision almost 75 per cent complete in the second year of Reece’s term.

The cost of the new 11 officers is $1.7 million, adding to the $2.1 million allocated for the original officers.

For the first time, contracted mental health workers will also be patrolling the CBD at a cost of $1.1 million for 10 staff.

While they won’t be paired with the CSOs, they will be in contact with them, and each service will be able to call on the help of the other with dealing with rough sleepers or people in mental distress.

While the CSOs will be in-house staff for the city, the mental health workers will be contractors.

The city is also boosting the number of CCTV cameras.

In the past year, it installed 100 new cameras, bringing the number to 450 across the CBD.

This year’s budget will see another 150 added, for a total of 600 cameras for $320,000.

Other initiatives include the introduction of food, organics and garden organics (FOGO) waste services into high-rise towers, and the extension of $2 weekday summer pool entry, free fitness classes in parks, and free summer swim lessons for residents, protected bike lanes on Exhibition Street and a mooted extension of Bourke Street Mall.

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