Rates cash grab?
Supplementary valuations of an apparent large number of predominantly rural properties in Baw Baw Shire, and issuing of higher supplementary rate notices for the year, have rocked some property owners.
Usually supplementary valuations are undertaken between statutory biennial shire revaluations when there have been major changes to properties, such as completion of new houses on previously vacant blocks or new commercial, retail or industrial buildings.
Council has said the process is about “fixing past errors.”
But several people that have contacted The Gazette are ropeable at amended higher rate notices without any changes to their properties.
Among them is Trevor Collins of Neerim Junction whose 230-acre farm property has jumped $227,000, or more than 25 per cent, in its Capital Improved Value as a result of the supplementary valuation.
That has seen his rates for the current financial year skyrocket from $5380, as per his initial rate notice, to the amended $6889.
The reason given is that a dairy on the farm was not included on council records and the higher CIV is because of it now being “discovered”. Mr Collins’ reaction to that explanation is a mix between being incredulous and angry.
“The dairy has been there 47 years,” he says, and the only changes have been in upgrading milking equipment. “It was always part of the property valuation”. Mr Collins said he even met a council valuer at the dairy when an earlier council revaluation was undertaken.
But he says a valuer that contacted him recently in response to his complaint to the shire told him council records only go back to 2006 – when they were converted from a manual system to computer - and the computer file doesn’t mention the dairy.
That’s where the problem lies, according to Mr Collins.
He said he was aware of other property owners that had similar issues with supplementary valuations resulting from the current audit.
Some of the buildings “captured“by the audit are more than 60 years old, he said.
“They just didn’t get transferred onto council’s computer files although they’d been taken into account for previous rate assessments”.
Mr Collins said it appears that council thinks because something was not transferred to the computer in 2006 it must never have officially existed and never been rated.
He is also taken aback to the response from the council valuer he spoke with recently when he stated that he was considering an appeal.
Mr Collins claims the reply to that was that an appeal would probably result in the property being looked at more closely and it would be highly likely that the valuation could be increased further.
He believes Baw Baw council is trying to boost its rate income by finding a way around the state government imposed cap on rate increases.
Shire corporate and community services director Mark Dupe said council understood the concerns of ratepayers impacted by the recent supplementary rate valuation and rating process.
Mr Dupe said the changes were a legislative requirement that had affected 15 rural properties out of 3200 across the shire..
“Council has not applied any valuation or rating retrospectively. This process has been about fixing past errors to ensure fairness and equity for ratepayers in the situations identified now and into the future.
“In those instances where valuations have increased, council has provided the reasons for the supplementary valuation. For example, where one piece of land has two titles, the overall value of the second parcel is increased as this land can be sold without subdivision while retaining the other property.
Mr Dupe said the rating of any individual property was based on the relative value of that property to other properties. “At various times, due to property market changes, some properties will receive more than the capped increase and some properties will receive lower increases.”