The South Burnett Regional Council’s attempt to make household budgets easier to manage by introducing quarterly rates is proving hard to wind back.
Quarterly rates were introduced in the 2012-2013 Budget.
At the time, Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said quarterly billing was being introduced to lower the impact half-yearly rates bills were having on household and business budgets.
Councillors also hoped the introduction of smaller, more frequent billing would help reduce the level of rate arrears.
However, today’s Council meeting was told that almost two years of data showed quarterly billing has had little or no effect on arrears. Instead, it has added $250,000 a year to Council’s operating costs.
SBRC Finance Manager Gary Wall said about 86 per cent of ratepayers paid their rates bill on or before the due date to claim their rates discount.
This was about the same percentage that did so when rates notices were issued bi-annually.
Mayor Kratzmann said he was in favour of a return to twice-yearly billing (in February and August) to reduce Council’s costs but some thought would have to be given about how to make the switch.
“At the moment we issue rates notices in August, November, February and May and give a 10 per cent discount if rates notices are paid within 30 days of being issued.” he said.
“But if we swap back to half-yearly notices in next year’s Budget, then our ratepayers will receive a bill for three months’ rates in May, then a bill for six months’ rates in August.
“I don’t think this would go down very well, so we’ll need to look at some way to ease in the changeover.
“But whether this would be by extending the discount period or some other way I don’t know.”
Councillors will now debate how and when to effect a switch back to half-yearly billing in their Budget discussions.
