The Circular Head Council believes rate exemptions for renewable projects should be removed, and direct revenue to councils for commercial activity on public land considered, to make the local government sector more sustainable.
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The council is one of many from around the country that have made their views known to a Senate committee which is looking into financial sustainability and funding in local government as well as infrastructure delivery and workplace in the sector.
Circular Head Council general manager Vanessa Adams has said the ability to rate renewable energy production on private land, and a fair share of royalties for public land usage, would reduce rate increases elsewhere to generate revenue.
She said it was acknowledged that the state's Local Government Act allowed a council to rate different classes of property, however, a significant development value of a property might be rated relatively low by the Valuer-General due to exemptions, like those applied to wind farms.
The Future of Local Government Review, released in October 2023 by the state's Local Government Board, recommended that the state government consider allowing councils to raise revenue from major commercial operations in their municipal boundaries areas, where rates based on the improved value of land was not an efficient, effective, or equitable form of taxation.
According to the federal government, councils were provided with $3.2 billion in untied funding from the Financial Assistance Grant program.
Councils are able to use this money at their discretion for community services.
Break O'Day general manager John Brown said fairer Financial Assistance Grant payments were long overdue.
"Over the past 30 years, Financial Assistance Grants have slipped from 1 per cent of Commonwealth taxation revenue, to just over 0.5 per cent," he said.
"Untied Financial Assistance Grants represent the largest pool of local government grant funding in Tasmania.
"This makes them of critical importance to Tasmanian councils."
Mr Brown said the grant program's distribution model based on population disadvantaged rural and regional councils in Tasmania, and a fairer model would be one based on relative need - similar to the GST model.
Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
