Selected Heathcote rates up 18 p.c.

Press, 16 June 1988, Page 6

Selected Heathcote rates up 18 p.c.

Some Heathcote County ratepayers in Heathcote Valley and Horotane Valley will face rate increases of up to 18 per cent.

These. areas are among those now included in the Canterbury United Council’s urban transport collection area. Some Heathcote County Councillors) at a special meeting last evening received graphic evidence of the variations when they were handed detailed notices of th'e rates their own properties in the county would incur.

The council decided in February that 20 per cent of the levy would be met by all rateable properties and 80 per cent of the transport levy would be met by

all rateable properties within 500 metres of a bus route.

The new transport levy is applied on capita! value across the whole district and means that properties which did not previously fail within the Christchurch Transport Board rating area are now having to pay the extra charge in rates. The County Chairman, Mr Oscar Alpers, said those residents who had previously paid the charge would face rate increases of only about 3 per cent. The County Council will seek $3.6 million from its ratepayers this year, an increase of almost 6 per cent on total rates last year. Mr Alpers said this figure decreased to 3.27 per cent when the increase

in rateable properties in the county was considered. ‘ k--

Of the total $l6 million, $908,000 will be for the Christchurch Drainage Board and $460,000 for the United Council’s transport levy.

The United Council itself will receive $38,000 while the Christchurch Town Hall will get $66,000, the Canterbury Museum, $48,000, and the North Canterbury Catchment Board, $141,000.

The council levies its rates on a differential rating basis. The industrial sector will be rated at 0.664088 c in the dollar of rateable value, the commercial sector at 0.226135 c, the rural at 0.283379 c, and residental and other properties will be rated at 0.214793 c.