About rates and how they are used

Anyone owning property and/or commercial enterprises within Shire of Mundaring is required to pay rates.

Rates are necessary for the Shire to provide facilities and services to the community. Services provided to ratepayers include libraries, recreation and sporting facilities, road upgrades, environmental management, community safety, and waste collection facilities.

Council has been thorough and diligent in its planning to ensure value for money is obtained for residents while still achieving expected outcomes for the community.

The overall operating budget of the Shire is $56.9 million for 2022/2023. This is made up of rates income, government funding and fees and charges.

Current global and domestic economic inflation will affect the Shire’s ability to maintain delivery of its services at previous costs and this has played a large part in this year’s budget incorporating a rate increase of 3.5 per cent.

Although this increase is significantly less than current inflation, the Shire is able to weather the economic volatility due to prudent financial management of building cash reserves and fixing interest rates on borrowings.

What rates will deliver in 2022/2023

Below is a snapshot of how some of these funds will be allocated to support our community this financial year.

Family and children’s services: $5.27m

Delivery of early childhood and parenting services, funded by government grants and fees.

Libraries: $1.84m

The Shire runs two public libraries in Mundaring and Boya.

Community engagement: $638k

Delivering a community grants program, cultural and artistic events, and skills-based workshops creates a vibrant, connected community.

Making it happen: $4.98m

Delivery of early childhood and parenting services, funded by government grants and fees. Corporate services such as customer service, record keeping and finance. Includes civic/administration building costs, loan interest repayments and depreciation. 

Youth services: $138k

Giving young people a say through The Youth Crew and enabling community groups to provide initiatives through the Youth Engagement Partnership Fund. 

Tourism: $218k

Our Visitor Centre promotes Mundaring and surrounds as an attractive tourist destination in the Perth Hills.

Elected Members and Council meetings: $567k

Twelve democratically elected councillors to represent community interests.

Aquatic facilities: $1.05m

Two public pools, Bilgoman and Mount Helena Aquatic Centres, plus financial support for Wooroloo pool.

Recreation centres: $1.01m

Including the state-of-the-art Mundaring Arena, Brown Park and Elsie Austin Pavilion.

Bushfire Brigades and fire prevention: $1.59m

Supporting nine volunteer bushfire brigades; mitigation and education activities to ensure we are bushfire ready.

Health administration/inspections: $675k

Conducting health inspections, managing pests, noise complaints and water quality testing at Lake Leschenaultia and our aquatic facilities.

Animal control: $820k

Promoting responsible pet ownership and working to ensure the safety of our community.

Access for all: $147k

The Shire facilitates an Inclusion and Disability Access Advisory Group, Active Ageing Network and The Hub of the Hills.

Environmental management: $817k

Protecting bushland and watercourses through programs such as Seedlings for Landcare, Mundaring Environmental Art Project, workshops and partnership with Waterwise Council.

Town planning and statutory building services: $2.09m

Developing our strategic planning framework to balance growth while protecting the area’s distinct sense of place. Assessing planning, subdivision and building licences.

Waste management: $7.4m

Operating two Community Recycling Centres in Chidlow and Mundaring; domestic waste and recycling collections and annual bulk and green waste verge collections.

Halls: $940k

The Shire manages and maintains 18 halls which are available for community hire.

Recreation grounds: $3.9m

Including 37 playgrounds, 34 tennis courts, nine BMX jump and skate parks, 11 ovals, 70km Railway Reserves Heritage Trail and 413 hectares public open space.

Street lighting: $700k

The Shire pays Western Power to run and maintain street lighting.

Roads, footpaths, drainage and public works: $6.5m

Maintaining 681km of roads, 448km of kerbs, 17 bridges, 115 bus shelters, 183km of drainage pipes, 37km of open drains and 137km of footpaths.

 $10.7M Capital Works Program for 2022/23

The Capital Works Program will deliver key projects such as:

  • Conversion of street lighting to LED lights ($2.9M) which over the life of the project will realise financial savings and environmental benefits
  • Upgrades to the Bilgoman Aquatic Centre change rooms ($275,000)
  • Upgrades to Mt Helena Oval change rooms ($75,000)
  • Upgrades to Scott Street bridge ($2.8M)
  • A cycle path from Chidlow townsite to Lake Leschenaultia ($1.085M)
  • Upgrades to Norris Park, with bbq and new play equipment ($80,000)
  • Development of a masterplan for Brown Park ($30,000)
  • Sawyers Valley Oval surface drainage improvement ($100,000)
  • Upgrades to the Keane Street and McVicar Road roundabout ($105,000)
  • Additional lighting at Glen Forrest Tennis Court and conversion to LED lighting ($50,000)
  • Works to achieve Disability Access Program ($260,000)
  • Upgrades to Brown Park Community Centre ($272,000).

A further $4.3M will see a number of local roads upgraded, with $275,000 allocated to build new footpaths and $444,000 for improvements to our ovals, parks and reserves.