Lismore residents’ fury over promised rate relief
Lismore council has voted unanimously to demand the State Government honour their promise to pay the entire rates for flood impacted residents and businesses. Here are the details.
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Lismore City Council has voted unanimously on a motion to demand the State Government honour their promise to waive and pay the entire 2022-23 rates notice, fees and charges of flood-affected ratepayers.
Flood impacted ratepayers in the Northern Rivers are outraged over broken promises to have their rates paid for the year.
In a well-meaning gesture to ease financial burdens on the region, Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg publicly announced council would waive the cost of rates for those directly impacted by the floods during the initial clean-up stages in March.
Community anger was aroused when council found they could not deliver on their promise, taking extra time for legal advice and to start lobbying for financial aid.
In June, the State Government announced a $40 million rates relief package for the region.
But ratepayers are calling the announcements misleading as they did not explain the relief would only cover the land value element of their rates bills.
Lismore resident Binnie O’Dwyer said being a single mother with two teenagers was hard enough.
“I live in the basin on Hindmarsh Street,” Ms O’Dwyer said.
“I just thought rates were rates and everything on the rates notice is rates.
“So, to now be told that only a part of that will be waived is misleading.”
Ms O’Dwyer said she cannot help feeling cynical about government promises.
“And it just adds to the extreme financial burden that I am carrying since the floods’’ she said.
“Having to rebuild and replace things costs a lot and when this announcement was made it was like a small reprieve.
“So, to have that taken away is hard and it just makes me cynical about all their announcements of help which don’t seem to amount to much.”
Lismore councillor Adam Guise said residents were getting their rates notices now with shock and trepidation because their rates have not been waived.
“It is a portion of what they were led to believe,” Cr Guise said. “We told them we would waive rates.
“We had Minister Cooke say eligible ratepayers would not be paying their rates for the next year.
“We need to ask them [state government] to come through on their promise to the community and deliver full rate relief.”
He said flood impacted residents who may be homeless or not living in their homes did not deserve this shock, especially in the light of uninhabitable homes and businesses.
“This is despite the State Government’s $40 million announcement of rates relief across the region and a $20 million ’grant’ to Lismore council that we’re yet to sign,” Mr Guise said.
In a unanimous vote, Lismore councillors agreed to write to the State Government and relevant ministers to call on them to honour their promise to pay rates in full.
A spokesperson from the Office of Local Government said the government recognised the ongoing effects of the devastating floods in the Northern Rivers, and in Lismore in particular.
“That’s why the Government proactively took action to provide one-off rate relief to eligible residential, commercial and farm ratepayers from the state’s seven most severely impacted council areas whose properties were directly affected by the February and March floods,’’ the spokesperson said.
“Letters were posted to eligible ratepayers to advise them their 2022-23 ordinary rates will be paid direct to councils on their behalf but noted in that letter relief would not include water, waste or sewerage,” the spokesperson said.
According to Services NSW, flood impacted residents that have not made any grant claims via Services NSW or have not received any communication from the State Government concerning their rates relief need an assessment from Johns Lyng Group to determine their property is ‘damaged’.
A Services NSW spokesperson advised residents to stop any payments of their rates until the assessment was completed and in the system for their rate relief to register.
A State Government spokesperson said the Government had already provided more than $17 million in council rate relief to more than 10,700 flood-affected ratepayers across the Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed LGAs.
Lismore Council has received an advance of around $6.5 million to cover the rates cost from the state government.
“Further payments will be made monthly to councils throughout the 2022/23 financial year,’’ the spokesperson said.
“Councils can also provide relief to ratepayers experiencing genuine financial hardship through their hardship provisions.’’
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