Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What is Rate Harmonisation? Rates Harmonisation is a requirement of the NSW Government for all merged councils. It is to create one rating structure to replace the former Corowa Shire Council and Urana Shire Council rating structures. In the past, our two councils had separate rating structures. We’re now one Council, meaning we need to establish the one rating system.
Rates Harmonisation Project Overview Federation Council is required to create one general rate structure following the merger of Corowa Shire Council and Urana Shire Council. This rates harmonisation process is: •
A requirement of the Local Government Act 1993;
•
To be effective from 1 July 2021 for the 2021-22 Rate year;
Corowa Shire Council’s and Urana Shire Council’s rating structures varied greatly and the harmonisation project has attempted to realign to a common rate structure, providing a more consistent approach to all Federation Council ratepayers.
Rates Harmonisation Options Council considered numerous rating structure options to address rates harmonisation and has narrowed this down to three. Council is seeking community input on the options to gauge if there may be a preference within the community as to which option Council should proceed with. Details on the three options can be found inside. Further information is also available on Council’s website at www.federationcouncil.nsw.gov.au
Does Council receive additional revenue by harmonising rates? No. The harmonisation process takes the current total general rate and apportions it across ratepayers and one new sytem. The result is that the total rates revenue for Federation Council remains the same. How can changes in land value affect your rates? Councils must set rates based on the value of each parcel of land in their area. The values are determined by the NSW Valuer General. The Valuer General issues Notices of Valuation to advise landholders of their new land value that will be used in the calculation of their council rates. Notices of Valuation are generally issued every three years. This will almost invariably result in land value fluctuations every three years and therefore individual ratepayers may see a change in their council rate component. This in turn will result in a proportional shift of each property owner’s share of the total burden for rates. The total rates revenue collected by Council still remains the same, irrespective of land valuation shifts.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Council invites feedback on the rate harmonisation options from members of the community by 5pm - Wednesday, 30 June, 2021. Feedback is encouraged to be provided via the online form on Council’s website: www.federationcouncil.nsw.gov.au. Hardcopy submissions will be accepted by the due date, addressed to Federation Council, PO Box 77, Corowa NSW 2646.
Project Key Dates Council is seeking your views on the rating options overleaf. Community Consultation period: May 2021 - June 2021. Adapt new rate structure: mid July 2021. Rates Notices issued: 31July 2021.
Council levies general rates on properties across the Federation Council area. These funds contribute to the costs of delivering numerous services to the community. Currently residential ratepayers contribute 49% of the total $8.9m in general rates collected, with farmland ratepayers contributing 42% and business ratepayers contributing 9%. In the 2021/22 year, rates totaling $8.9 million will be collected to support services within each of the following areas:
Where can I find more information? Visit Council’s website www.federationcouncil.nsw.gov.au to obtain further relevant information regarding the Rates Harmonisation options and to provide your feedback via the online survey.
Under the proposed options that Council’s seeking your feedback on, all properties contribute a consistent fixed amount towards Council services, with the balance contributed by property owners based on the value of their land holdings. This is a structure that is currently used for properties in the former Corowa Council area and is commonly used in regional and rural local government areas in NSW. Option
A Base rate at $370 for all properties
Base rate (all properties)
$370.00
plus ad valorem charge depending on value of land owned
Ad valorem rates (rate in $)
Business: $0.006277 Farmland: $0.001973
Residential rates proportion
$348.00
plus ad valorem charge depending on value of land owned
Business: $0.006277 Farmland: $0.002164
Increases rates payable by residential and business categories and reduces rates payable by farmland. • Increase for higher value residential and business properties from former Corowa Council area. • Increase for residential and business properties from former Urana Council area. • Decrease for all farmland properties.
$8.9m
Residential ratepayers contribute 49.0% of the total general rates collected by Council.
Maintains a similar amount of rates from residential properties as currently collected. • Increase for residential and business properties from former Urana Council area. • Decrease for residential and business properties in villages from former Corowa Council area. • Minimal change for residential and business properties in Corowa, Howlong and Mulwala. • Increase for all farmland properties .
$8.9m
Residential ratepayers contribute 47.3% of the total general rates collected by Council.
Increases rates payable by the farmland category and reduces rates payable by residential and business categories. • Increase for residential and business properties from former Urana Council area. • Decrease for residential and business properties from former Corowa Council area. • Increase for all farmland properties.
$8.9m
Residential: $0.003668
C Base rate at $303.30 for all proper-
ties plus a higher ad valorem charge depending on value of land owned
$303.30
Business: $0.006687 Farmland: $0.002284 Residential: $0.003889
Total rates collected
Residential ratepayers contribute 51.9% of the total general rates collected by Council.
Residential: $0.003868
B Base rate at $348 for all properties
Rate Category Broad Impacts
The following charts provide the rates that would apply to the median property in each of the listed localities.
Residential Ratepayers General rates on median property
Farmland ratepayers General rates on median property
Business ratepayers General rates on median property