LAKE Macquarie residents will pay $18.42 per household more in rates this financial year. The increased rate was set by the the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal for the 2014-15 financial year. The Lake Macquarie council will collect more than $105 million in rates from residential, farmland, mining and business, a $3 million increase from last financial year. The rate changes came into effect on July 1.