THE draft Mornington Peninsula Shire budget for 2026/27 has been presented to councillors with them approving the document be placed on public exhibition for a period of four weeks to seek community feedback.
In the draft budget, general rates will be capped to the annual maximum raise amount of 2.75%, despite overall revenue rising 11.94%.
General rates revenue is expected to rise by $13.2m for the year (up 7.63%), with a restructured waste service charge bringing in an extra $12.4m for the year: an increase of 29.29%.
The waste charge has been broken into two separate charges with a waste collection charge and a public cleaning charge.
The waste collection charge is applied to properties that receive a kerbside collection and is calculated as direct kerbside waste expenditure divided by the number of relevant rateable properties.
The public cleaning charge relates to indirect waste related expenditure such as public bin collection, street sweeping and beach cleaning and is applied to all rateable properties.
The report into the draft budget states: “A property that receives a kerbside collection will incur both the waste collection charge and public cleaning charge resulting in a total amount payable of $570, which is a $137 (31.6%) increase compared to 2025/26”.
The restructured waste charge will be welcome news for properties that do not receive a kerbside collection as they will only incur the public cleaning charge resulting in a total amount payable of $154, which is a $279 (64.4%) decrease compared to 2025/26.
Speaking on the changes, Cr Max Patton said “When you combine the total waste charge… that combined increase will be felt.”
“Especially landing at this particular point in time where fuel prices are elevated and it’s going to cause inflation. So it is stretching household budgets even further.
“I feel that myself. I think it’s important that we acknowledge that with our communications during the exhibition period.”
First published in the Mornington News – 21 April 2026
