It seems likely that Hills residents will shoulder another large council rate hike over the next financial year.

The Mt Barker, Adelaide Hills and Alexandrina councils are all considering average rate increases of between 5% and 8.3%.

It is a challenging job for councils to try to balance their expenses and provide all the services that are expected of them, without overburdening ratepayers.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has increased dramatically over the past couple of years, which has a significant impact on council expenses.

However, households are also facing significant cost of living pressures because of those CPI increases and rising council rates are only adding to that burden.

Council rates go up every year and, while there are some concessions for those who are financially struggling or have experienced extreme increases in rates, they are usually one-off and don’t protect them through the long-term.

Other contributors to cost of living pressures, such as mortgage repayments and grocery and petrol costs, do sometimes drop, but, while rate rises may plateau, council rates are unlikely to ever be less than they were the year before.

This means the huge increases imposed on ratepayers over the last couple of years will never be reversed, even if rate increases slow in future years.

It’s therefore very important that councils very carefully consider the cost increases they impose on their residents and take their feedback into consideration when they undertake community consultation about their upcoming budgets.

It’s important that councils recognise the significant challenges facing ratepayers and aim to impose the lowest possible burden on them, while ensuring that the council’s financial position is viable, sustainable and fiscally responsible.