
City of Mandurah residents will be paying more for their rates in the 2025/26 financial year after council adopted their Long Term Financial plan and budget at Tuesday night's meeting.
The 4.08 per cent increase equates to about $69.44 a year or $1.34 a week for the average residential property.
"This marks the end of a long and considered process, one that involved months of workshops, briefings and deep discussion," Mayor Caroline Knight said.
"I want to thank my fellow Councillors for the respectful and collaborative way we’ve worked through this. These decisions are never easy, especially when they result in a rate increase for our community.
"No one likes to raise the cost of anything, especially in times like these. We know many people are feeling the pressure of rising costs and we absolutely take that seriously.
"As Councillors, we’re community members too - mums, dads, grandparents, business owners, volunteers, and sports coaches… and we don’t make these decisions lightly.
"But we also have a responsibility under the Local Government Act to act in the best interests of our whole community, now and into the future."
Mayor Caroline Knight said the budget has been shaped to ensure the City can maintain and renew its $1.5 billion asset base, while continuing to deliver the services and programs that the community values most.
"We’re maintaining and renewing our City’s vast number of public assets - playgrounds, sports clubs, the Seniors Centre, the pool, roads, parks, footpaths, community centres, libraries and more - many of which people can access for free or at a very low cost, which is vitally important when we’re all feeling the pinch," she said.