Merivale rates

Press, 10 August 1985, Page 18

Merivale rates

Sir,—The Mayor, councillors and staff claim they are forced to charge rates that are 50 to 100 per cent over last year’s because of Government valuations. This is just not true. The Local Government Act, 5.157 A permits uniform charges and also rating by ward. Would the city council please say: If rates were spread equally by property, what would they be, (a) including commercial properties or (b) leaving commercial rating as at present? It is also claimed that ratepayers should have appealed against the Government valuations. Generally revaluations are fairly evenly spread and we expected all areas would increase proportionately, so why appeal? The council knew the effect, but did nothing to alleviate the injustice. Instead all persist in the fantasy that it is not their fault.—Yours, etc., A. W. DIREEN. July 31, 1985 [Mr J. H. Gray, general manager and Town Clerk of Christchurch, replies: “The Local Government Act does provide under Section 157 A for the levying of a uniform general charge on all properties in the city of the same amount. The act, however, limits this charge to a maximum of $l5O per rateable property and requires that it be applied equally to all properties, including commercial and industrial properties. This amount is insufficient to meet all the city’s rate requirements and there would still need to be some value-based rating. A comprehensive report of all the options regarding rates in the city has been prepared for consideration by the next meeting of the Policy and Finance Committee.”]