While it’s only January, City of Mandurah councillors are already putting plans in place for October’s local government elections, including allocation of their “staggering” costs.
A report presented to city councillors at their official meeting on January 23, revealed the looming election could cost ratepayers roughly $241,000.
That figure was based off Western Australia Electoral Commission estimates.
An additional $12,480 would also be required if the City of Mandurah opts info the Australia Post Priority Service.
All those costs, however, do not factor in the price of extra staffing requirements, non-statutory advertising or additional postage fees imposed by Australia Post.
The price tag came as a surprise to some, particularly, Coastal Ward councillor Fred Riebeling who said he was “staggered” it cost so much to run an election.
Mr Riebeling said the price could also increase if an issue occurred, such as having to recount the votes due to an error.
“They do make errors and when they make them, they’re quite significant,” he said.
Local government ordinary elections are held on the third Saturday in October every two years. The next election will be held on October 19, 2019.
The presented report also outlined results from the past City of Mandurah election.
The final costings of the 2017 local government elections totalled $209,332.
According to the report, there have been a variety of reasons for the increased price tag.
Two price increases by Australia Post and surging voter rates were mentioned as contributing factors.
In 2017, Mandurah had 59,637 postal packages sent to electors with a return of 23,680.
That equated to a return rate of 39.7 per cent, which has been recorded as the highest return rate for the City of Mandurah.
During the meeting, councillors showed their support for several recommendations, including declaring an electoral commissioner responsible for the conduct of the election, noting the costs associated with hosting it and agreeing to a postal ballot method until another more suitable alternative is introduced.
While he and his fellow councillors voted in support of the recommendations, Town Ward councillor Peter Rogers made a suggestion to the chamber.
Mr Rogers called for Mandurah to be the trial site for electronic voting. He stated the idea has the potential to eliminate the postal costs.
Councillors agreed to allow a report into the idea, with findings expected to come back at a later date.
While elected representatives voted unanimous in support for the recommendations, they can only be implemented after receiving the green-light at an official ordinary council meeting.
Follow Caitlyn Rintoul on Twitter via @caitlynrintoul.
