Part 4 Making of rates and charges

532   Publication of draft management plan

A council must not make a rate or charge until it has given public notice (in accordance with section 405) of its draft management plan for the year for which the rate or charge is to be made and has considered any matters concerning the draft management plan (in accordance with section 406).

533   Date by which a rate or charge must be made

A rate or charge must be made before 1 August in the year for which the rate or charge is made or before such later date in that year as the Minister may, if the Minister is of the opinion that there are special circumstances, allow.

534   Rate or charge to be made for a specified year

Each rate or charge is to be made for a specified year, being the year in which the rate or charge is made or the next year.

535   Rate or charge to be made by resolution

A rate or charge is made by resolution of the council.

536   What criteria are relevant in determining the base amount?

(1)  In determining a base amount of a rate, the council must have regard to (but is not limited to) the following:

•  its general administration and overhead costs

•  the extent to which projected ad valorem rates on individual properties do not reflect the cost of providing necessary services and facilities

•  the level of grant or similar income available to provide necessary services and facilities

•  the degree of congruity and homogeneity between the values of properties subject to the rate and their spread throughout the area

•  whether a rate that is wholly an ad valorem rate would result in an uneven distribution of the rate burden because a comparatively high proportion of assessments would bear a comparatively low share of the total rate burden

•  in the case of a special rate—the cost of providing the works, services, facilities or activities to the parcels of land subject to the rate (ignoring the rateable value of those parcels).

(2)  The council, in having regard to its general administration and overhead costs, must use net costs, with income being included in the calculation of standard costs for all community service functions, library services, recreational and cultural facilities and amenities and the like.

537   Form of resolution specifying base amounts of rates

In the resolution that specifies a base amount of a rate, or the base amount of a rate for a category or sub-category of an ordinary rate, the council must state:

(a)  the amount in dollars of the base amount, and

(b)  the percentage, in conformity with section 500, of the total amount payable by the levying of the rate, or the rate for the category or sub-category concerned of the ordinary rate, that the levying of the base amount will produce.

538   Form of resolution for special rate

(1)  In the resolution that makes a special rate, the council must state whether the special rate is to be levied on all rateable land in the council’s area or on only a part of that land.

(2)  If the special rate is to be levied on only a part of that land, the council must specify in the resolution the part on which it is to be levied.

539   What criteria are relevant in determining the amount of a charge?

(1)  In determining the amount of a charge for a service, the council may have regard to (but is not limited to) the following:

•  the purpose for which the service is provided

•  the nature, extent and frequency of the service

•  the cost of providing the service

•  the categorisation for rating purposes of the land to which the service is provided

•  the nature and use of premises to which the service is provided

•  the area of land to which the service is provided

•  in the case of water supply services—the quantity of water supplied.

(2)  The amount of a charge need not be limited to recovering the cost of providing the service for which the charge is made, except as provided by sections 503 (2) and 504 (3).

540   Form of charge

The amount of a charge may be expressed as a single amount or as a rate per unit or as any combination of them.

Note. For example, the amount of a charge for a water supply service could be a fixed amount, a rate per kilolitre, or a combination of them.

541   Differing amounts of a charge

A council may determine differing amounts for the same charge.

542   Minimum amounts of charges

A council may, in a resolution making a charge, specify a minimum amount of the charge or, if the council has determined differing amounts for the same charge, minimum amounts for each such differing amount.

543   Each form of rate and each charge to have its own name

(1)  A council must, when making an ordinary rate, give a short separate name for each amount of the ordinary rate.

(2)  A council must, when making a special rate, give the special rate a short name.

(3)  A council must, when making a charge, give a short separate name for each amount of the charge.

Note. The names given to the ordinary rate could include names like:

Farmland—Ordinary

Farmland—Poultry farms

Residential—A

Residential—B

The names given to special rates could include names like:

Upper Smithtown water rate

Lower Smithtown water rate

Leisure centre—primary rate

Leisure centre—secondary rate

The names given to charges could include names like:

Waste management services—domestic

Waste management services—commercial

544   Inclusion of names in rates and charges notices

A council must include the name of each rate and charge, in full or in an abbreviated form, in the rates and charges notice by which the rate or charge is levied.

545   Curing of irregularities

(1)  The Minister may authorise a council to do such things as may be necessary to cure an irregularity in the making or levying of a rate or charge.

(2)  The Minister may declare, by order published in the Gazette, that a rate or charge that would otherwise be invalid because of a provision of this Part is taken to have been validly made from the time it purported to have been made. Such an order has effect according to its tenor.

(3)  The Minister may not make such an order unless, in the Minister’s opinion, the rate or charge concerned is invalid only because of a minor and technical breach of one or more of the provisions of this Part.

(4)  The Minister may make such an order even though proceedings in relation to the validity have commenced.

 

Some steps relating to the making of rates and charges

				Council requests Valuer-General to estimate increase in value of land subject to supplementary valuations. (This may be done after 31 January but before 31 May)	s 513
				Minister specifies % (if any) by which last year’s general income and annual charges for domestic waste management services are to vary	s 506
				Council prepares draft management plan which includes the council’s revenue policy for the next year	ss 402, 404
				Council publicly exhibits draft management plan	s 405 (1)
				Public notice of draft management plan for not less than 28 days	ss 405 (2), 532
				Council considers submissions concerning draft management plan	ss 406 (2), 706 (2)
				Council adopts management plan	s 406
				Council makes rates and charges by resolution	ss 535, 537, 538
1 July
1 Aug				Final day for making of rates and charges for current year (unless Minister allows a later day)	s 533
				Rates levied by service of rates and charges notice	s 546
31 Aug				1st quarterly instalment of rates and charges payable (unless rate notice not served by 1 August)	s 562