The Shire of Murray council has acknowledged a rates increase will add to financial pressures on residents but says it is needed so it can maintain its services. Councillors voted at their July 23 meeting to adopt the shire’s 2026-27 budget, with a 4.95 per increase in rates to generate about $25.3 million in revenue. The rates increase is the shire’s highest in the past seven years but it said its cumulative rates increase over that time was still lower than the cumulative increase in the Perth Consumer Price Index. Shire president Douglas McLarty said he fully understood any rates increase would be a burden on ratepayers who were in a cost-of-living crisis, but the shire was in a similar situation. Deputy shire president Ange Rogers said options considered to reduce costs included cutting staff numbers but this was not sustainable.