WODONGA residents will get the chance to have their say on council rates.

This comes after the council announced it would be forming a Rating Reference Group to give people an opportunity to make suggestions to improve or change rates.

Wodonga mayor Rodney Wangman said the board would be made up of informed people from varied industries.

“We won’t just have six farmers in the group, we want a good mix of people to cover as many different sectors in the community as we can,” he said.

“Some of the sectors represented will be residential, business, farming and commercial.”

Cr Wangman said every industry would be accounted for and the group would review the rate expectations of each of those.

The group will also lobby to council special rates, charges and levies they believe should be considered and will also reflect on what the council should continue to achieve.

Cr Wangman said it would be the second Rating Refer-ence Group formed in four years.

“It’s a documenting strategy that shows how rates got to where they are and how they’ll be applied,” he said.

The group will collaborate during a three-month period and Cr Wangman said any suggestions would be put to the council at a meeting in March or April next year.

The council passed a recommendation at a meeting earlier this month to begin the rating review and establish the Rating Reference Group.

Wodonga’s rates are set to rise by 4.75 per cent this financial year and 4 per cent the following two years.

Group members must be Wodonga residents or ratepayers and will be chosen by the council through an application process.

Anybody interested in joining the group should contact Wodonga Council’s business services director Trevor Ierino in writing or by emailing tierino@wodonga.vic.gov.au by 5pm on Sept- ember 5.