No rates hike amid virus impact

Residents in the Shire of Exmouth will not face an increase in rates after the Shire passed a series of recommendations for coronavirus relief packages at a recent meeting.

At a special meeting last month, the Shire of Exmouth unanimously supported 10 recommendations to provide assistance to residents and businesses in the region.

These measures included any rates in the dollar for the 2020-21 financial year and not increasing the community fees and charges.

Other measures would see the Shire establish a Shire President COVID-19 Relief Fund to capture donations/grants made to council.

The council agreed to contribute $25,000 to the fund immediately and a committee from the council will be established to determine the terms and conditions of funding.

According to an officer’s report the Shire expects the financial impact of the coronavirus would be $1.5 million, with Learmonth Airport expecting a 90-95 per cent drop in commercial flights which would total a reduction in budgeted revenue of $909,000.

The report also found that exhibition revenue, merchandise sales, advertising and commissions from the Ningaloo Centre are expected to come in $391,000 under budget.