‘People are hurting’: Mid Murray council limits rate rise to 3.6 per cent
Property owners will pay a little more from July 1, but competition with Murray Bridge has kept the increase to a minimum.
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Mid Murray property owners can expect their council rates bills to go up by 3.6 per cent, or an average of $70 per year, from July 1.
That’s the proposed increase included in the council’s draft budget for 2026-27, which was finalised at a meeting on Tuesday.
An average homeowner would pay just under $2000 in property rates next financial year.
In setting those numbers, the council had been mindful of the cost pressures facing the community, Mayor Simone Bailey and CEO Ben Scales said.
“Planning for the future in times of uncertainty is challenging, however … balancing our community’s needs with a commitment to efficiency and sustainability will deliver positive outcomes for the Mid Murray’s future,” the pair said in a written introduction to the budget.
As one example, they suggested, the council’s financial position was improving.
Councillors and staff had made $1.6 million worth of savings over the past three years, and two thirds of the council’s debts would be paid off over the next decade.
However, its representatives would keep advocating for more help from higher levels of government.
“Debt has been used as a strategic tool by council in the past to provide community assets with the assistance of grants,” the council’s finance manager said in a report to councillors.
“Council is proposing a rating strategy that seeks to achieve a degree of stability and predictability over time while ensuring we pay for ... services and infrastructure maintenance obligations.”
The council’s total budget of $33.6 million would include spending on everyday services like roads, rates and rubbish, plus projects such as:
- Completing upgrades at Mannum Oval
- Finalising a review of the council’s historic riverboat fleet
- Planning for growth and climate change
The council would return an operating deficit of about $700,000.
Key to the budget was a Reserve Bank of Australia projection that inflation would fall from 4.8% to 2.4% over the next 12 months.
Comparison to Murray Bridge keeps rate rise to a minimum
Staff had originally proposed a 4.6% rate increase.
But Ms Bailey argued for a lower rate at Tuesday’s meeting.
She noted that the neighbouring Murray Bridge council had been criticised in more than 100 comments on a Facebook post by Murray Bridge News after proposing a 3.9% increase.
“People are hurting out there right now,” she said.
“If we can rein in any spending and try to keep that percentage increase as low as we can, it won’t help everyone … but we should be doing what we can.”
Cr Roslyn Schultz agreed, suggesting that the council would look after itself and that councillors’ job was to look after ratepayers.
Mr Scales urged residents to have their say on the draft budget between now and June 11.
“The community needs to provide feedback if they’re not happy with what’s being proposed,” he said at the meeting.
“All we can do is take on that feedback.”
- Have your say: Visit engagement.mid-murray.sa.gov.au/draft-2026-2027-annual-bussiness-plan-and-budget or email postbox@mid-murray.sa.gov.au by 12pm on June 11.
