🏛 Budget & Council

Your Rates Are Going Up 2.75% — And One Councillor Says the Vote Shut Out Residents

Frankston City Council passed its 2026/2027 Budget this week, locking in a 2.75% rates increase — the maximum allowed under the State Government cap. The official press release calls it a "community-first budget that delivers real cost-of-living support." The meeting itself told a slightly different story.

Councillor Nathan Butler says he was not given the opportunity to move an alternate motion aimed at exploring targeted cost-of-living relief for residents — relief that goes beyond what the passed budget delivers. Whether that's a procedural slip or something more deliberate is a fair question to ask.

On top of that, Councillor Kris Bolam moved a formal motion of dissent against Mayor Baker during the same meeting. It failed — but the fact it was moved at all signals real tension on the council floor that the official press release glosses over completely.

What does 2.75% actually mean for your household? For the average Frankston property, rates sit around $1,800–$2,200 per year. A 2.75% increase adds roughly $50–$60 to your annual bill — though most households will also see waste charges drop by 3–4% this year, partially offsetting that rise.

What's actually useful in this budget: fees for 11 council services are suspended for 12 months, including kerbside trading permits, supported playgroup venue hire, and event permits. Worth checking if any of those apply to you. Full details at frankston.vic.gov.au

🔎 This Week: Frankston North

The Suburb That Gets the Headlines for All the Wrong Reasons — and What's Actually Happening There

Frankston North doesn't get great press. It has the highest rate of criminal incidents in Frankston City and some of the deepest socioeconomic disadvantage in the region. Those are real facts and we won't pretend otherwise.

But spend any time here and you find a suburb that's fiercely proud, tightly knit, and quietly doing more for itself than any council newsletter acknowledges. Community breakfast programs making sure kids don't arrive at school hungry. A local footy club that's been the social backbone of the suburb for decades.

And a question worth repeating loudly: why does a suburb of thousands of residents — many without cars — still have no direct public transport link to Frankston's town centre? In 2026. We're going to keep asking until there's an answer.

If you live in Frankston North and want to share your story, hit reply. We want to hear from you.

⚠ Frankston Safety — Week of 11–16 May 2026

› Victoria Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses after a 65-year-old man and his wife were attacked by a group of youths at the Frankston Waterfront Festival earlier this year. Information: Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.

› Seaford residents are urged to secure vehicles and garages overnight following a series of property offences in the area. Frankston Crime Investigation Unit is investigating.

› Reminder: Frankston's most common crime types remain property offences — theft from vehicles and residential burglary. The station precinct and car parks are consistent hotspots after dark.

› For the latest Victoria Police appeals and incidents, visit police.vic.gov.au/latest-news and search "Frankston."

"I've lived in Karingal for 11 years. The foreshore has never looked better — but the rates bill keeps going up and I'm still waiting on the footpath outside my street to be fixed. Council needs to sort the basics before anything else.

— Jo, Karingal · 11-year local

TRUE STORY

"I was teasing a seagull with a chip on the foreshore. A second seagull swooped in and took it clean out of my hand. The first one didn't get a thing. Neither did I."

There I was, fish and chips in hand, a seagull squawking at my feet doing his best starving-orphan routine. So I held a chip up high — just to keep him keen, you know how it goes. Before I could do anything with it, a second seagull came from absolutely nowhere, executed a perfect low-altitude swoop, and lifted the chip clean out of my fingers. Gone. The first seagull watched it happen. So did I. Two locals, outsmarted by a bird we weren't even looking at. Genuinely the most Frankston beach experience I've ever had.

Had a moment that could only happen in Frankston? Send it to [email protected] — we'll run the best one each week.

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