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Consultation has concluded
The Local Government Act 1993 (LGA) provides for councils to make concessions to ratepayers experiencing genuine financial hardship. It also provides for concessions to pensioners.
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance as to how Council will respond to ratepayer requests for assistance because the payment of rates and charges would cause genuine financial hardship.
The current natural disaster has had significant financial impact on our ratepayers and community. Council has indicated an intention to explore all possible avenues for rate relief and support within its financial capacity. However, it is noted that Council has very limited resources to subsidise rate relief, especially considering the significant impact of the natural disaster on Council’s own assets and resources.
Advice was sought the from the Office Local Government (OLG) on Council obligations regarding rates and rates relief, the following is a summary:
Council has no legal ability to not charge rates; rates need to be levied.
Council has no legal ability to write off rates across rating categories, or holistically for segments of the population.
Relief on rates and charges needs to be on a case-by-case basis and applied through an appropriate mechanism.
Council has also received legal advice that supports the advice from the Office of Local Government.
After consideration of the advice received it is deemed the most appropriate mechanism to provide relief to ratepayers suffering hardship is through Council’s Hardship Policy 1.5.11. Under the current Rates Hardship Policy, Council can enter a payment arrangement, but has limited scope to waive interest on overdue rates. Therefore, it is considered that the current policy does not provide wide enough flexibility to address the current issues adequately.
After consultation and receiving feedback from stakeholders, it is considered that an amendment to the existing policy would be the most appropriate and allow for ongoing flexibility for Council.
Next Steps
The draft policy is now on public exhibition and the community will have the opportunity to provide feedback before we ask Council to adopt it.
Submissions close on Friday, 8 July 2022.
Submissions can be made online via the submission form below, or sent to: the General Manager, Lismore City Council, PO Box 23A, Lismore NSW 2480.
The Local Government Act 1993 (LGA) provides for councils to make concessions to ratepayers experiencing genuine financial hardship. It also provides for concessions to pensioners.
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance as to how Council will respond to ratepayer requests for assistance because the payment of rates and charges would cause genuine financial hardship.
The current natural disaster has had significant financial impact on our ratepayers and community. Council has indicated an intention to explore all possible avenues for rate relief and support within its financial capacity. However, it is noted that Council has very limited resources to subsidise rate relief, especially considering the significant impact of the natural disaster on Council’s own assets and resources.
Advice was sought the from the Office Local Government (OLG) on Council obligations regarding rates and rates relief, the following is a summary:
Council has no legal ability to not charge rates; rates need to be levied.
Council has no legal ability to write off rates across rating categories, or holistically for segments of the population.
Relief on rates and charges needs to be on a case-by-case basis and applied through an appropriate mechanism.
Council has also received legal advice that supports the advice from the Office of Local Government.
After consideration of the advice received it is deemed the most appropriate mechanism to provide relief to ratepayers suffering hardship is through Council’s Hardship Policy 1.5.11. Under the current Rates Hardship Policy, Council can enter a payment arrangement, but has limited scope to waive interest on overdue rates. Therefore, it is considered that the current policy does not provide wide enough flexibility to address the current issues adequately.
After consultation and receiving feedback from stakeholders, it is considered that an amendment to the existing policy would be the most appropriate and allow for ongoing flexibility for Council.
Next Steps
The draft policy is now on public exhibition and the community will have the opportunity to provide feedback before we ask Council to adopt it.
Submissions close on Friday, 8 July 2022.
Submissions can be made online via the submission form below, or sent to: the General Manager, Lismore City Council, PO Box 23A, Lismore NSW 2480.
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