VFF president David Jochinke said the plan would see farmers paying more while other ratepayers would pay less.
“The VFF is deeply concerned by Strathbogie Shire’s proposal to abolish its municipal charge which will have the effect of placing a greater rating burden on local farmers,” he said.
“It’s not fair, it’s not equitable, the council hasn’t justified it and they need to take another look at it.
“This proposal would see the rates paid on the average farm assessment increase by 8.24 per cent while the rates paid on the average residential assessment will decrease by 0.36 per cent.
“The increase to farm rates is one of the worst rate hikes seen across Victoria.”
Mr Jochinke said councils had been allowed to levy a municipal charge since 1993 in order to make the rating system more equitable for all ratepayers.
“The municipal charge acts as a mechanism to dampen the effects of substantial changes in property valuations between years,” he said.
“In Strathbogie, the average farm assessment will pay $3669 in general rates, compared to the average residential assessment which will pay $1666.
“It is important to recognise the reality that farmers pay multiple assessments across their land holdings, whereas the average residential and commercial business ratepayer typically pays rates on just one property.
“The average farm business in Strathbogie Shire will therefore pay approximately $12,172 in general rates this year.
“Changes must be made to the state’s rating strategy in the long term and we would welcome the opportunity to work with councils to advocate for reform.”
Strathbogie Shire Mayor Amanda McClaren said council had heard the Victorian Farmers’ Federation’s calls for rate relief for farming community and had been acting.
“During the past two years council has reduced the farm rate differential from 85 per cent of the residential rate to 80 per cent,” she said.
“To put this simply, it means we’ve been increasing the discount for our farming community.
“At the same time, we have been reducing the fixed municipal charge and the 2020-21 draft budget flags the removal of this charge, meaning rates will be determined by a property’s valuation.
“The combination of changes to the rates differential and municipal charge has led to a small shift in rates from residential to farm. During the same time period values have increased by more for farms than residential.
“Council looks to support our agricultural sector, which is the largest sector in our municipality. This year our 2020-21 draft budget includes a significant investment of $205,000 for upgrade works at the Euroa saleyards for a new truck wash and tanks.
“We also understand the effects of the valuer-general’s annual valuations and movement in rate bills for individual properties will vary depending on movement in values.
“Property valuations are not conducted by Strathbogie Shire. It is a process conducted independently by the valuer-general in accordance with Victorian Government legislation.
“In total, since 2017-18 the valuer-general’s valuations has increased residential values by 26 per cent and farm values by 31 per cent.”
Cr McClaren said Strathbogie Shire had recently engaged with the community to understand views on all aspects of the 2020-21 draft budget.
“We had a fantastic response, with members of our community sharing their views on a range of budget-related topics,” she said.
“We’ve heard strongly there is concern in our community about the proposed rate increase of 1.9 per cent in our draft budget.
“Councillors are hearing this concern. We carefully considered all feedback, which included the VFF submission, before making a final decision on the draft budget on July 14.”