Council hoping for record number of rate rebate applications

Ruapehu Mayor Don Cameron wants to see as many people as possible who are able to apply for a rates rebate to do and is urging ratepayers to check their eligibility if they haven’t yet done so.

Mayor Cameron said that the number of people applying for a rate rebate varies from year to year which was concerning as Council feels that there are people who could benefit who are missing out.

As a ‘rule of thumb’ Council encourages anyone earning less than $40,000 to apply,” he said.

“Although a ratepayer’s income might exceed the base income threshold a partial rates rebate could still be available depending on a number of variables including household income, number of dependents, and the level of rates being paid.

Checking whether you should put in an application is really easy.

All people need to do is drop by or call their local Council office where the Customer Services staff can discuss the eligibility criteria with you.

Mayor Cameron said that last rating year (2016-17) Council processed 530 rate rebate applications worth $291,740 which was the highest number of rate rebate applications processed since the scheme started.

“That is a lot of money that gets to stay in Ruapehu communities,” he said.

“This compares to 512 applications worth $287,917 for the 2015-16 rating year and 519 applications worth $289,949 for 2014-15.

So far this year Council has processed 393 applications worth $221,681

Around the same time last year we had processed 405 applications worth $225,150.

With the median household income in Ruapehu being below the national average the Rates Rebate Scheme provides important financial support for many Ruapehu households.

Council is hopeful that we can exceed last year’s highest yet total again this year and see even more Ruapehu whanau benefit.”

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