Otago Regional Council is apologising to more than 14,700 ratepayers – in the Oamaru and wider Dunedin district areas – with two errors identified in ORC’s recent rates invoices. 

ORC Chief Executive Richard Saunders says, “Two issues were identified with the recent rates strike that will unfortunately require us to send out amended rates invoices to affected ratepayers.”

“We’re sincerely sorry for the inconvenience caused to ratepayers and will be amending processes in the future to ensure there’s no repeat. The largest number of affected people [in the wider Dunedin district] will be contacted by letter shortly,” Mr Saunders says.

Oamaru public transport rate overcharge error

In the Oamaru area a new transport rate was incorrectly applied and overcharged to a small number of contiguous* properties which should not have received the $5.45 (including GST) fixed charge.

The 972 people in Oamaru incorrectly charged the Oamaru Transport Rate, were advised by letter in October that their rates were being credited and they can either; reduce the payment amount to ORC if they had not yet paid their rates; claim a refund or use as a credit toward next year’s rates. 

“Those ratepayers were offered the option to retain the credit to use next year or contact ORC if they would prefer a refund,” Mr Saunders says.

*Two or more properties owned by the same person which share a common border, jointly used as one unit.

Leith Indirect rate undercharge error

Separately, in the wider Dunedin district there was an error in the Rating Information Database which resulted in the expanded Leith indirect flood rate being omitted from some property rate charges, Mr Saunders says.

“We’re very conscious of the financial demands being placed on ratepayers around the country at present, and I can only highlight that the majority of the undercharging for Indirect Leith flood protection rate averages between $15 to less than $20 per property.”

Mr Saunders emphasized there will be no penalty rates applied to the undercharging for the Leith indirect flood rate, and while ratepayers will be notified this month, they have until 30 June 2025 to pay.

The Leith Indirect rate had always been charged to some properties in Dunedin (with a targeted mapped area which detailed properties to be charged).  

This was extended in the current rating year to apply to all properties in the Dunedin district (IE within DCC boundary), but excludes the ratepayers already being charged within the existing Leith Direct targeted rate area.  

The undercharging amounted to $219,972 rates having to be reinvoiced. 

About 86% of those 13,789 ratepayers affected will be invoiced for less than $20 and 99% in total will be invoiced for less than $100.  There are 21 properties worth more than $15 million, of which five will need to pay more than $1000.

Mr Saunders says the estimated cost of reinvoicing for the rates was less than $20,000. 

Ratepayers for the Leith Indirect Rate will shortly be sent a letter with their amended invoice.

The correction to the Leith Indirect rate includes contributions from properties from the districts around places including Waikouaiti, Dunedin city, Middlemarch and Hyde, Mosgiel, Taieri, Outram, Allanton and Henley.

The spread of the additional amounts to be reinvoiced for Leith Indirect Rate

A Governance report is set down to come before ORC’s Finance Committee for noting on 6 November. The Agenda and report is scheduled to be publicly available online, from Monday 4 November

Background

For the 2024/25 rating period ORC struck rates of $74,709,450, (compared with $64,326,741 in 2023/24) GST inclusive which were due on 31 October 2024. A total of 126,003 rates notices were sent on 6 September 2024 (2023/24; 124,479)

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