Community groups in Gosnells will pay less to hire City facilities for social events after councillors voted to introduce a new discount.
At last week’s meeting, the City agreed to give incorporated not-for-profit groups a 25 percent reduction on social function hire fees.
The move means clubs and associations hosting dinners, quiz nights, trophy presentations or fundraising events will no longer be charged the full “social function” rate, which can cost up to $122.50 per hour at Mills Park.
Cr Saiful Islam pushed for a broader change, arguing not-for-profits should simply pay the existing discounted community rate regardless of whether they serve food. He said groups had complained to him that the higher social rate often left them unable to run events.
“They get a discount most of the time, but when they serve food they don’t get any discount at all,” Cr Islam said. “That means they have to decide whether to carry on their program without food or cancel it altogether. Food is one of the things that unites us, so this makes it very difficult.”
He gave the example of a local club that wanted to hold an end-of-season prizegiving dinner but could not afford the cost this year.
“As a City I think we should support local clubs, particularly small ones that can’t afford these rates,” he said.
Cr Islam argued the system was confusing, with multiple rates that did not always reflect community benefit. He pointed out that neighbouring councils such as Canning and Armadale do not differentiate between not-for-profits that serve food and those that do not.
Although his amendments to scrap the social rate for not-for-profits or provide one free hall hire per year were defeated, Cr Islam welcomed the 25 percent discount as a step in the right direction.
“Twenty-five per cent is better than nothing at all,” he said. “I spoke to a charity group earlier today and they were very happy because they would have been paying the full amount, and now they are getting a discount.”
The City estimates the decision will reduce its annual income from hall hire by about $18,000. Cr Islam said he hopes councillors will review the issue again before the next budget.
“I think moving forward we can look at how to support our local not-for-profits and charity groups without costing too much, maybe through smaller facilities or limited free access,” he said.
