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Re:

City of Stirling Sets 4.5% Rate Rise for 2025/26 as $4.5m Surplus Is Projected

Stirling adopted a 4.5% average residential rates increase for 2025/26—about $59 a year for an average home—with a $4.5 million surplus projected, not confirmed.
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The City of Stirling adopted a 4.5 per cent average residential rates increase for the 2025/26 financial year on 1 July 2025. The City said that would add about $59 a year for an average residential property. A projected $4.5 million surplus was reported at the time, but it was an estimate—not a confirmed year-end result.

What the 2025/26 rates decision means

The adopted increase was 4.5 per cent on average residential rates. The City of Stirling described the effect as about $59 per year for an average residential property. Individual bills can differ because the $59 figure is an average, not a fixed charge for every household. The City announced the increase with its 2025/26 Annual Budget.

The statutory budget attachment estimates that the City would raise $174,558,410 from general rates. That is the budgeted total across ratepayers, not the amount charged to an individual property. See the City’s budget and financial reports.

Why the council kept the 4.5% increase

Deputy Mayor Suzanne Migdale proposed lowering the increase to 3.95 per cent. PerthNow reported that Corporate Services Director Ingrid Hawkins estimated the change would save ratepayers an average of $7.43 while reducing City revenue by $946,000. The amendment failed, so the 4.5 per cent increase remained in the adopted budget.

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Option Reported household effect Reported revenue effect Outcome
4.5% increase About $59 per year for an average residential property, according to the City Baseline for the comparison; a separate amount was not stated in PerthNow’s account Adopted
3.95% increase Estimated average saving of $7.43, according to Corporate Services Director Ingrid Hawkins as reported by PerthNow Estimated $946,000 less revenue, according to Ingrid Hawkins as reported by PerthNow Amendment lost

Migdale argued that the proposed increase was high relative to inflation. PerthNow reported her saying: “The Consumer Price Index, our most objective measure of inflation, currently sits at 2.8 per cent … By contrast, the proposed 4.5 per cent increase in local government rates represents an uplift that is approximately 60 per cent above that index.” She also said, “We cannot build civic strength at the cost of household stability.”

Mayor Mark Irwin urged councillors to support the prepared budget, citing the connection between the budget and the City’s corporate business plan. The debate and quotations above are from PerthNow’s report of the council decision.

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What the budget was intended to fund

The City described its 2025/26 budget as $332.2 million and said the increase would allow it to remain debt-free while delivering services. Its announcement highlighted completion of the Mirrabooka Town Square upgrade and safety improvements in the Scarborough Beach precinct.

PerthNow reported a $119.5 million capital works program and cited these allocations and projects:

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  • $24.9 million for infrastructure renewals, including roads, drainage and footpaths.
  • $8 million for capital building works.
  • $14.5 million for parks and reserves.
  • Projects including the Carine Regional Open Space upgrade, the start of the Hutton Street extension to Walters Drive, renewal of the Balcatta Recycling Centre and safety work at Scarborough Beach.
  • Design and cost planning for Hamersley Community Hub.

The capital program and its project details were reported by PerthNow; the City’s budget announcement provides its own account of the budget’s scale and highlighted work.

What the projected $4.5 million surplus does—and does not—show

PerthNow reported that the adopted budget projected a $4.5 million surplus. A projection is a budget expectation, not evidence that the City ultimately ended the financial year with that surplus. The sources cited here do not establish the final audited 2025/26 result, so the $4.5 million should not be treated as a confirmed year-end figure.

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Do not confuse this decision with the 2026/27 rates rise

The 4.5 per cent figure applies to 2025/26, not the City’s latest budget. The City adopted its 2026/27 Annual Budget on 7 July 2026; it totals $371.8 million and sets a 4.9 per cent residential rates increase. The City’s 2026/27 budget announcement gives the later figures.

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