The South Burnett Regional Council began seeking public feedback today on whether it should retain its current quarterly rates notices or move back to half-yearly or annual rates bills.
Quarterly rates notices were introduced in July 2012 in an effort to lower the impact half-yearly rates bills were having on household and business budgets.
But the extra postage, printing and processing costs involved with quarterly notices have increased the Council’s overheads by an estimated $250,000 per annum.
Last year Mayor Wayne Kratzmann began flagging that Council would like to return to half-yearly or yearly rates notices to reduce these extra costs.
Speaking at a public community consultation meeting held at Murgon Town Hall in October, the Mayor said he thought a return to twice yearly or even annual billing might be easier for many people.
However a change back to longer billing periods is likely to prove complex.
This is because if a change is made, residents would receive a final quarterly notice and then – three months later – a half-yearly or yearly notice.
The Mayor told the October meeting that if ratepayers said they wanted longer intervals between bills, the Council would need to investigate ways to make the transition as easy as possible.
One of these might be to extend the discount period and defer the penalty interest point.
The Council has begun collecting feedback on the possible change at Customer Service Centres when people pay rates over the counter.
Today it also released a short, three-question electronic survey as well.
The survey can be found by clicking here. It will remain open until Monday, March 16.
Related articles:
