NEW METHOD OF RATES PAYMENT

Taupo Times, Volume 19, Issue 99, 23 December 1970, Page 1

NEW METHOD OF RATES PAYMENT

From April 1, 1971, ratepayers in the Taupo borough will be required to pay a portion of their rates every two months instead of one payment of the whole amount once a year.

A decision to make the new method of rates payment compulsory was made at a special meeting of the Taupo Borough Council held prior to the normal monthly meeting on Monday night. Ihe town clerk Mr R. D. Sinton, told councillors that the recently enacted Rating Amendment Act allowed a local authority to levy and collect rates on the instalment system. However, special order of the council was necessary to change the rate collection system. "Councillors will be aware of the comments made throughout the country from time to time as to the burden of rates," said Mr Sinton. "Many a ratepayer can quote to the cent what his rates were, but how many could say what their telephone and tolls amounted to for the year, or how much they paid for any other ser-

vice or commodity for that period?" he asked. "It would be fair to say that, because rates are levied annually and are payable in one sum, that the amount payable appears out of proportion to charges for other services. "Rating by instalments could overcome this problem," he said. Mr Sinton pointed out that there were disadvantages in the instalment method, mainly with increased costs of postage, stationcry, and, possibly, additional staff. "Nevertheless, it is suggested that the advantages of the system would outweigh any disadvantages on the administrative side," he said. The assistant town clerk, Mr R. F. Little, has had discussions with the town clerk at Tawa over the instalment payment seheme. Tawa and

Dunedin City arc the two local authorities that have operated under this system for the past two years under special Government legislation. Earlier this year Parliament passed legislation allowing any local authority to collect rates by instalment if they wished, provided that there were no fewer than two and no more than six instalments in any one year. Under the instalment system, the money required to run the borough will be collected evenly over the year, whereas the one payment system meant the council received money during a two-month spell and little or no inoome during the other 10 months. Council operated for four to five months in overdraft before half the rates were received, and did so again until the remaining rates were collected in December. Mr Little said that at the end of last week there was still about $29,000 outstanding in uncollccted rates out of more than $365,000. Payments were coming in at the rate of up to $400 per day, but ratepayers who had not paid by early next month would be served with summonses.