Rural City of Wangaratta and their 78 council counterparts across the state are continuing to take a stand against the Victorian government's newly introduced Emergency Services Volunteer Fund (ESVF), appealing to the Premier and Treasurer to dump the new tax and come up with a fairer levy.

Representing all Victorian councils, Regional Cities Victoria, Rural Councils Victoria and Municipal Association of Victoria wrote a joint letter to Jacinta Allan and Jaclyn Symes relaying deep concerns surrounding the ESVF placing unfair burdens on ratepayers.

Under the new tax, councils collect the funds on behalf of the state government, appearing on local rates notices, with rural city ratepayers forking out an additional $3 million this year.

In a joint statement, the local government leaders said they could not support the ESVF in its current form.

“The policy is inequitable, poorly implemented, and risks undermining community trust,” it read.

“On behalf of our ratepayers and communities, we have urged the Premier and Treasurer to reconsider this policy in the interests of equity, sustainability and fairness.”

The council bodies say the ESVF funds services that should be supported from consolidated revenue, and its collection belongs with the State Revenue Office, not local councils.

“The levy places an inequitable and disproportionate burden on Victoria’s primary producers and rural communities,” the statement read.

“Local government and our communities were not adequately consulted on a reform that directly affects them.

“Transparency and fairness must underpin any funding model for emergency services.”

Rural City of Wangaratta Council have raised their own concerns with the ESVF on numerous occasions, including to local government bodies, Ovens Valley MP Tim McCurdy and Ms Symes herself.

While acknowledging the need to fund emergency services, council argued the current model unfairly impacts rural ratepayers, and also puts councils in a difficult financial and administrative bind.

Acting Mayor, Havery Benton, said the levy was a direct hit to local farmers and families who are already doing it tough.

"We support our emergency services volunteers, but the ESVF is unfair and was imposed without genuine consultation," he said.

"Local government should be a partner, not an afterthought, when it comes to major financial decisions affecting our communities.”

Cr Benton said it’s been two years since the state government scrapped the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, which provided up to $125m annually to underwrite projects that accommodate growth and create jobs in regional and rural Victoria.

He said the state’s estimated to strip up to $60 million more from communities a year through the ESVF.

Cr Benton said all 79 councils were standing together to send a clear message.

"Regional and rural Victoria cannot afford another state-imposed tax," he said.

"We urge the state government to withdraw the ESVF and work with us to design a fairer, more transparent approach.”