$840 hike in rates but still no services

KLAAS Kloosterman has no sewerage, no town water and no recycling service - but he has just received an $840 increase in his annual rates.

Klaas Kloosterman, who lives on Wrights Road, Grasstree Beach, is shocked he will have to pay an extra $840 a year in rates.

KLAAS Kloosterman has no sewerage, no town water and no recycling service - but he has just received an $840 increase in his annual rates.

Other residents on Wrights Road, at Grasstree Beach, have received a similar rates hike.

The increase comes as a result of Sarina's amalgamation with Mackay Regional Council, which has placed the residents in a different rating category.

Mr Kloosterman said his last six-monthly rate bill was $605.19. For the six months to June 30 he is expected to pay $1070.58.

As a Sarina Shire Council ratepayer his annual bill was around $950.

“I was very shocked when I got my rates; the rate increase has just come out of the blue. I can understand if it had gone up a little bit but not an extra $840 for the year - not when we have to supply our own water, have our own sewerage system, for which we have to pay maintenance and upkeep, and we only have one bin service. It's ridiculous,” he said.

For the past five years Mr Kloosterman and his wife, Tina, have lived on their five-acre block on Wrights Road.

Mackay Regional Council corporate services director Dan McKinlay has apologised to residents on Wrights Road for failing to provide them with an explanation about the increase in their rates.

Mr McKinlay said the properties were “incorrectly categorised” in the October rates process by being placed in Residential A category.

“The properties actually fall into the Special Residential Strata category and, therefore, are charged at a different rate in the dollar,” he said.

Special Residential Strata is for properties where there are eight or more lots in a development that shares a common unimproved capital valuation of $1million or more; or the property is contained within a resort or other tourist related facility.

“This category is charged at 1.262 cents in the dollar compared to the residential A category, which is at 0.607cents in the dollar,” Mr McKinlay said.

“I understand the residents' surprise and I apologise that we did not alert them to the change.”

“We haven't backdated the rates from October and I encourage any resident experiencing difficulties to contact council to arrange a payment plan best suited to the individual,” he said.

Originally published as $840 hike in rates but still no services