THE forecast doubling of the existing Fire Services Property Levy has raised the ire of Indigo Shire councillors who are united in advocating against it.

From 1 July, the levy will be renamed the Emergency Services Volunteers Fund (ESVF) and it will rise from 8.7 cents to 17.3 cents per $1000 capital improved value [CIV].

Property owners will be slugged with the increases and councillors have particular concern about its implementation with the state government levy becoming part of the local government rates collection and with little detail where it will be spent.

Under the new fund, emergency services volunteers will be exempt from paying the tax on their primary place of residence, but it leaves everyone else with yet another cost burden that Indigo Shire councillors do not want their staff to collect.

In seconding the motion put forward by Cr Jane Dowsley for the mayor and CEO to advocate against the new levy at last Tuesday night's monthly council meeting, Cr Diane Shepheard summed up the feeling among councillors.

"We're under a rate cap system and aware of every cent we're spending of ratepayers money and having to budget tightly yet the state government is putting a 100 per cent increase in this fee that we are to implement and go on our rate notices," Cr Shepheard said.

"The community will absolutely think we have done this.

"We'll have to answer the phone calls, we're the ones who have to work out who is exempt; we just don't have the IT or the people to work this.

"They [state government] has the exact same list of ratepayers that we have, they could easily be doing this themselves.

"We also don't know what this is going to be spent on.

"If it's coming from this region it it coming back to this region?

"It's a question they haven't answered yet."

The councillors voted unanimously for the Indigo Shire Mayor Sophie Price and CEO Trevor Ierino to advocate against the new Emergency Services Volunteer Fund and called on the state government to reduce the tax burden for ratepayers by lowering the increase to a reasonable increase that is aligned to CPI; removing the requirement for local councils to collect this tax on behalf of the state government; and to confirm the tax that is collected from Indigo Shire residents will be used for the benefit of local emergency service organisations.

Cr Price said Indigo Shire Council will join with other Victorian councils including Wodonga, Wangaratta and Mansfield to demand change to the new levy.

"The state government should collect their own taxes; they should not impose a tax of theirs on a different level of government," she said.

"Were we consulted? No.

"Do we have a say on the matter? No.

"Is it appropriate? No, it's not.

"This is being heard far and wide, all the councils are in agreement, and I cannot believe they would ask us such a thing."

Mayor Price said she looks forward to advocating against this with the state government.