A motion to give Maitland residents a one-off rate reduction has been shot down by the majority of Councillors in last night's meeting.
Labor Cr Ben Whiting raised the proposal, which would see Maitland Council absorb a scheduled rate increase of 7.25%; instead limiting it to 2.3%.
It would've equated to a one-off saving of around $80 to $100 per ratepayer.
Cr Mitchell Griffin, who voted against the motion, said it "simply didn't equate" within the budget, and believes essential projects would've been put at risk if Council allowed the reduction.
"There was going to be quite a substantial cost put on the community - around $40 million over 10 years," he said, "services would have been cut from Council's Delivery Program...obviously when you make that sort of cut you have to look at jobs as well.
"So hence, we've protected the jobs of those within Council and also the Delivery Program we'll be running over the next 10 years," he concluded.
However, Cr Whiting said he carefully considered the financial implications of the move and mapped out areas to absorb the rate cut.
"In the motion, I noted the roads as an example," he said, "they're done on a prioritisation basis - they are now and they always will be - so as part of targeting where to cut, I looked at the lower priority roads...and that same process could have been applied across the board."
Cr Whiting said he was disappointed, but not surprised the Liberals voted against the "modest proposal."
However Cr Griffin believes the $100 saving promised by Labor in the last election didn't add up with the $77 figure put on the table last night.
"One has to question whether there is a genuine benefit for the ratepayer," he said, "or it was just there to pork-barrel the electorate."
Meanwhile, breaches of Council's Code of Meeting Practice are being investigated by the General Manager following a series of interruptions from Councillors who were speaking.
