Kini Bay is set to become Nelson Mandela Bay’s next special ratings area (SRA), where property owners will pay additional rates for security or beach cleaning programmes, if the council agrees.If approved before the end of June, it will take effect on July 1, along with the city’s 2019/2020 budget.Richmond Hill is the only other SRA in the metro, while plans to establish Central as an SRA are also afoot.A report to the joint mayoral and budget and treasury committee meeting, dated May 29, details how residents from the Kini Bay SRA committee applied in December for the area to be considered.The joint mayoral and budget and treasury committee meeting was postponed on Wednesday and thus did not deliberate on the report.It states, however, that there were concerns over the safety of residents in the area.The application was submitted by Sean Jonker from the Kini Bay SRA steering committee.SRAs are a relatively new approach towards urban renewal, which sees residents paying rates over and above their municipal rates, and the funds are administered by the people in the SRA through a Section 21 company.In his application, Jonker said a threat assessment was done for the area by the police which found that increased CCTV cameras were needed as well as live CCTV camera monitoring in crime-vulnerable and tourist hotspots.“Even with the CCTV system in place, the issue of crime in the form of burglaries into homes has become a problem.“This form of crime within Kini Bay has increased over the past year,” Jonker wrote.The additional funds would also go towards the removal of alien vegetation, cleaning overgrown properties and beachfront cleaning.Infrastructure upgrades such as road upgrades, parking areas and walkways to the beach are also in the pipeline should the council approve the application.The committee submitted a five-year business plan reflecting how the funds would be used for the improvement of the area. It anticipates the SRA would make about R250,161 in year one – an amount it expects would increase annually.Kini Bay SRA steering committee member Ian Moore said increasing security was the main objective as the number of break-ins had increased.“We already had a CCTV system running but in order to make it effective we needed the buy-in of everyone.“If we get approval then everyone would be able to contribute,” Moore said.“We want community members involved in community-based projects.”Supporting the idea of an SRA for Kini Bay, resident Coen Burger, 69, who built his home 15 years ago, said he had a burglary for the first time in August 2018.“Areas such as Beachview and Seaview upped their security and we’ve been sort of viewed as a soft target, and incidences have increased in the last two years,” Burger said.“[However] Kini Bay remains one of the safest suburbs in the metro to live in.”Another resident, 66, who did not want to be named, said SA had a crime problem and no-one was exempt from it.“To me, it’s still safe out here, but with that said, people can’t leave their security gates open or not turn on their alarms because we do have a crime problem in this country,” the man said.About 65% of residents agreed to the SRA, but 17 objections were lodged with the municipality by residents.Among those who objected were former public health acting executive director Tsietsie Mokonenyane and safety and security executive director Keith Meyer.The two major concerns from residents were that they were not given the opportunity to fully consider all avenues before the application for an SRA and a lack of transparent communication.