Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council has voted to almost wipe out its own rate increase
A single misplaced figure has nearly wiped out a country council’s budget for the entire year, potentially costing it 90 per cent of its $11m rates revenue.
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A Country council is scrambling to fix a budget bungle that would have wiped out almost all of its rates revenue for this year.
A misplaced decimal point in Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council’s 2020-21 budget, passed last week, meant the average homeowner would have paid $13.28 in general rates, not $1328.
The accounting error would have cost the council 90 per cent of its $11m rates revenue.
The council will meet as soon as possible to rescind its budget decision and approve a new financial plan with the correct rates charges.
“This is a major issue in one of the major decisions council has to make,” Cr Burfitt said.
“We even went to the point of calling a division in the (budget) vote and it was still not picked up.
“It will need to be redone and corrected at the earliest opportunity.”
Cr Burfitt had tried unsuccessfully to have general rates kept to a 1 per cent increase this year to ease the burden on ratepayers during the COVID-19 crisis.
But the council voted five to four in favour of a staff recommendation for a 3.58 per cent increase in general residential rates.
The mistake meant instead of a differential rate of 0.5 cents in the dollar for residential properties, 0.6 cents for commercial and industrial property, and 0.2 cents for primary production properties, the council applied 0.005, 0.006 and 0.002 respectively.
The confusion was created because the council was citing the “rate in the dollar” as “cents in the dollar” without changing the decimal point.
The rates needed by the administration for wages and projects cannot be levied unless the council approves the correct figures.
Mayor Wayne Thomas said there had been many versions of the budget and much debate, which had put staff under considerable pressure.
“We will fix this ASAP,” Mr Thomas said.
“It is a technicality, it is a combination of the description between rates in the dollar and then quoting cents in the dollar.
“Legally we have to describe it (and convert it) as cents in the dollar when we vote in the meeting, and all through the business plan it is described as rates in the dollar. Rates in the dollar is correct, cents is not, and in transcribing that the mistake was made.”