A Tasmanian city's ratepayers will be hit with a more than 10 per cent rate rise after a fiery late-night council meeting.
Rates for residential properties in Burnie will increase by an average of 10.2 per cent after the council voted six to two to support the move.
The council's general manager Simon Overland said rates needed to rise to ensure the council's long-term financial sustainability.
He said a number of factors contributed to the higher than average increase this year, including concerns around inflationary uncertainties and the enduring financial impacts of COVID-19.
"The council consulted with the Burnie community," he said.
Mayor votes against rate rise
But mayor Steve Kons said there was "no issue" with the sustainability of the council's budget as he and deputy mayor Giovanna Simpson voted against the rate rise.
He said cost cutting had improved the budget and recent deficits were due to one-off expenses.
"Everyone just blindly accepted what the staff said. I certainly did a lot of research. It's an unfortunate circumstance that councillors' views are not considered worthy whereas the staff's are."
He described the atmosphere at the meeting as "very tense" and said it was one of the longest meetings he had attended.
"To panic and throw the bath water out with a baby is certainly not the right approach."
Mr Overland said he understood some community members may find the rate increase "challenging" and said residents facing genuine financial hardship would be supported.
