To the Editor

As a rural ratepayer in the MidCoast Council, an amalgam of Forster/Great Lakes, Gloucester and Greater Taree Councils Taree City Council, our rates and charges have four components. Farmland (charged on rateable value), Farmland base amount, Septic Admin Charge and Annual Domestic Waste Charge Rural. ” Legislative changes made by the NSW Parliament in March 2017 allowed the new Mid-Coast Council to for, and IPART (Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal) to assess, an SV ( special variation) application for 2017-18 (the only amalgamated Council allowed this). As a result of this assessment the net increase to the Council’s permissible general income from 2016-17 to 2017-18 will be approximately 5.0% ( page 3 IPART) and the average farmland rate will increase by $80 in the first year. The Annual Domestic Waste Charge Rural has been frozen at 2016-17 levels for three years from 2017-18. The only component of our rates which has increased by 5% is the Farmland base amount (4.96%). The Farmland (charged on rateable value) has increased by 13.3% and the Septic Admin Charge has increased by 20.7%. Did IPART take into account the increase in rateable value of properties? How do these increases comply with the IPART assessment?

Geoffrey Grenfell

Kippaxs