NEW VALUATIONS MAY BE DECLARED WITHIN 2 MONTHS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22916, 7 April 1949, Page 4

NEW VALUATIONS MAY BE DECLARED WITHIN 2 MONTHS

Property-owners in the counties of Cook and Waikohu and the Borough of Gisborne, who are awaiting the announcement of new valuations with something of the fascinated anticipation of a hospital patient facing a tricky operation, will probably remain in suspense for a few weeks vet.

T,t is hoped by the Valuation Department officers in Gisborne to have the assesssments in the hands of owners of property in something under two months.

Field work on the new valuations already has been completed, but before they can be conveyed to individual ratepayers a series of operations must ensue. In the first place the proposed valuation roll for each c£ the local authorities' areas must be submitted to the Valuer-General for perusal and approval, with the outside possibility that it may not secure his sanction, in which case much of the work already done might have to be revised. Once the Valuer-General has given his approval, the Valuation Department in Gisborne will prepare rolls for each of the local bodies concerned and will also circulate to individual ratepayers their assessments, which take effect immediately. Rating Basis of Local Authorities

The issue of new valuation rolls automatically cancels former rolls, and the new rolls thereupon become the rating basis of the local authority affected. Presumably this year's rate demands will be issued by the Gisborne Borough Council, the Cook County Council ' and the Waikohu County Council on the basis of the new assessments. As there are about 10,000 individual assessments involved, the typing and posting of the advices to propertyowners represents a substantial task. It is likely to be about six weeks, even with overtime and perhaps additional assistance for the Gisborne staff of the Valuation Department. Ratepayers will have the right of objecting to assessments, and objections will first be taken up between the objector and the valuer whose figures are contested. If they cannot reach agreement on the value of the property concerned the objector may go to the district land valuation court, which under recent legislative changes has taken the place of the assessment court which formerly heard rating objections.

While it is generally recognised that there will be a considerable increase in the over-all valuations of the respective borough and county areas, no details are available yet as to the variations from the levels established by pre-war valuations. Hospital Board’s Levy

Both the Cook Hospital Board and the Gisborne Borough Council have dealt officially, during the past fortnight, with increases in over-all borough valuations which have meant a considerable increase in the amount of annual levy due from the borough to the hospital authority. These increases, however, have no relation to the general revision of values completed on April 1 of this year.

The hospital levy is based upon the capital valuations of the contributing areas as at the previous December 31. Last year the borough was levied for hospital purposes on the basis of a £4,620,083 capital value, as at December 31, 1947, This year the levy is based upon a £4,876,101 capital value. The difference between these two figures—a shade over £256,000 — represents the values of new buildings erected during the year, and added automatically to the borough figures. These new buildings include well over 100 new dwellings and a trifle of £104,000 expended in extensions of wool-storage space in Gisborne recently. The value of State houses are taken into account in the increasing valuations on a capital basis. The new roll, which will become applicable after approval by the ValuerGeneral, will represent a complete revision of values in the portion of the valuation district affected .