City’s focus on recovery

City of Albany council will halt rate increases and develop an $80,000 Community Recovery Fund amid the crushing financial blow of COVID-19. At a special council meeting on Thursday last week, the council shifted its focus to recovery, voting on a course of action not only to survive, but rebuild as it grapples with the pandemic. Mayor Dennis Wellington said councillors voted to adopt a zero per cent rate increase in the City’s next budget, as well as the ability to defer fees, debt recovery and additional interest on rates on a case-by-case basis. The council also voted to defer rates on an individual basis for people with pensioner or seniors cards. “We just need to make it easier for people to exist so they can try and come out of this thing in some sort of reasonable shape,” Mr Wellington said. Chief executive Andrew Sharpe will be given the power to grant temporary rent concessions for commercial tenants struggling to stay afloat. Mr Wellington urged local business owners to reach out if they needed help. “They can come and talk any time ... we are all in the same boat, we are all suffering the same pain and it is a lot of hard work but the fact is that we are all doing this together,” he said. Councillors approved the creation of an $80,000 Community Recovery Fund redirecting two years of community funding to a recovery pool to help rebuild community groups and clubs. “They are all waiting in limbo at the moment, they will come looking for help into the future and we want to be there ready for them when they do,” Mr Wellington said. Mr Wellington said the City had no plan “at this stage” to stand down staff and was considering all options, including staff pay cuts. A report to the council noted there was “no financial safety net for local governments”, which were exempt from State and Federal employee support packages. “The City’s financial security is in jeopardy unless we consider all options to ensure we remain viable for the future in particular the recovery,” the report said. Mr Wellington said the council voted to adopt a two-week paid pandemic leave plan for city employees diagnosed with COVID-19. “The only people that can get cover are those who get laid off and we don’t want to do that,” he said. “We don’t want to put them into any undue hardship so we will look into any avenues possible to ensure they are safeguarded and their health is looked after.”