WAIKATO DISTRICT COUNCIL media release, 24 August 2012
FIRST INTEGRATED RATES NOTICES ARRIVING IN LETTERBOXES SOON
This week the first rates notice of the 2012/13 year will be mailed to Waikato District Council ratepayers. This notice marks the first full integration of the rating policies of the Waikato District Council with the former Franklin District Council following the amalgamation in 2010.
Due to the combination of the two sets of policies, consulted through the Long Term Plan process, there have been some changes in the council’s rates remissions policies.
The most significant change for ratepayers in the former Franklin District Council is in regards to the policy of allowing payment of full year’s rates on the second instalment due date. Under this policy, ratepayers who missed the first instalment were waived the penalty as long as they paid the annual amount in full by the time of the second instalment due date.
This policy is no longer in place and any missed instalment may now be liable for a penalty. However ratepayers in the Franklin area will now have the benefit of later due dates for the three rates instalments.
Further details about this and the council’s other remissions policies are available from the website, www.waikatodc.govt.nz
The council has three due dates for instalments in the year from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013; 24 September 2012, 23 January 2013 and 23 May 2013. Enquiries regarding the payment of rates should be directed to the council on 0800 492 452.
Mine have gone up $598.65 (23%) to $3,148.21 from $2,549.56. To ease the increase WDC has a rates remission – mine is shown as $16.71. How does that compare with others?
A rates remission. You are lucky John!
No rates remission for us. Rates up from $2,743.59 to $3040.60, an increase of $297.10, equivalent to a 10.83% increase. This high level of increase is well above both the consumer price index and the local government index which was 2.34% last year.
The automatic rate remission kicks in when there is an increase of $300, ours was $2.90 under that, so we miss out, even though our rates went up more than 10%.
You qualify for the rebate as your increase was over $300 and over 10%. I don’t understand how you only get a $16.71 rebate. Perhaps Council staff can explain it.