System of rate charges may alter

Press, 8 April 1987, Page 2

System of rate charges may alter

PA Palmerston North The way local bodies strike rates will be simpler and more flexible if proposed changes to their powers become law next year, says the Internal Affairs Department’s local government director, Mr David Smith. Mr Smith was in Palmerston North on Monday to. address the New Zealand Institute of gTown Clerks and Municipal Treasurers’ conference. He said the Draft Rating Powers Bill, now in the final stages of refinement, would provide a modern system. It would alter the way the rates burden was shared in • some areas, but would not alter the amounts local bodies sought from ratepayers. However, some ratepayers would be affected differently depending on the . amount of uniform charges local authorities could impose as part of their rate demands. Uniform charges meant that everyone paid the same amount for certain I services, such as water or sewerage connections, regardless of property values. “At present, the Government has some reservation about uniform charges because they do not relate to the ability to pay,” Mr Smith said. Although a final figure was yet to be set, it was likely local authorities would not be able to make up more than 30 per cent of their ratestake in uniform charges, he said. I