Rates are used to support the Council in providing services for the benefit of all residents. They comprise around 50% of Council's revenue each year and help pay for:
Waste collection & disposal sites
Animal control
Public amenities
Street lighting and cleaning
Local roads, footpaths and drainage
Maintenance of halls and public buildings
Parks and playgrounds
Tourism and area promotion
Fire protection
Community development
Rates are normally made up of a general rate and service rates, which are identified on your rates notice.
General rate
The general rate is calculated on a cents (currently 10.7961) in the dollar amount, based on the AAV of a property. The AAV is an assessment of the market value of a property, at a specific date and in accordance with legislation. The Valuer-General determines the AAV under the Valuation of Land Act 2001.
Service rate or charge
Council has services charges for:
Waste management
Fire protection
1st Instalment due 5.00pm on 28 August 2009
2nd Instalment due 5.00pm on 30 October 2009
3rd Instalment due 5.00pm on 29 January 2010
4th Instalment due 5.00pm on 30 April 2010
If your payment is received by Council in full, on or before 15 September 2009, you will receive a 3% discount, net of any remissions.
Generally, owners of land have to pay rates. Occupiers of land may pay the rates in exceptional circumstances. If this is the case the owner must notify the Council in writing of this.
If you purchase a property part way through the year, it is advisable to check that all outstanding rates and water meter charges have been paid or paid up to settlement date. If you purchase a property which has an amount outstanding either for rates, water or even legal fees, these charges will come with the property and be transferred into your name.
Due to the increase in properties selling around the state at the moment, it may take a while for your property ownership to come through to Council. Until Council gets notification from the Land Titles Office of this change we can not change ownership details. When Council does receive this information, you will receive a copy of your rates and water account (where applicable) to let you know that Council has received this change of ownership and to let you know if there are any amounts owing on the property.
In Person: Payments accepted at Break O'Day Council Offices, Georges Bay Esplanade, St Helens. We accept Cash, Cheques, EFTPOS, Debit Cards, Visa, Mastercard, Bankcard. Council offices open from 8.30am-5.00pm, Monday to Friday. Payment also accepted from Holders Brothers Store in Talbot Street, Fingal. Cash and Cheque payment accepted.
Telephone: Can be made by phoning either 1300 366 745 (service tasmania) or 1300 816 (australia post).
Australia Post: Payments can be made at any Australia Post outlet (barcoded rates notice required).
Internet: At either http://www.postbillpay.com.au/ or Service Tasmania
By Mail: Post your cheque, money order to credit card details to: Break O'Day Council, PO Box 21, St Helens 7216. Please make any cheques or money orders payable to Break O'Day Council and cross "Account Payee Only, Not Negotiable". If paying by credit card please complete the details on the reverse of your account.
Direct Debit: Council now also offers a Direct Debit service; meaning no cheques, no phone calls, no queuing to pay your rates and no having to remember to pay and most of all no fees. The money is automatically transferred from your bank account on a selected date. You can choose to pay weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly amounts. If this option interests you please click here and download the request form, complete and return to Council to start your Direct Debit.
B-PAY: Telephone and Internet Banking - contact your bank, credit union or building society to make this payment from your cheque, savings or credit card account. Your reference number can be found on the front of your Rates Notice.
FOR BOTH TELEPHONE AND INTERNET PAYMENTS, PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE YOUR ACCOUNT HANDY AS YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO QUOTE YOUR DTX NUMBER. PLEASE ALSO REMEMBER THAT IF YOU ARE PAYING MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS, YOU WILL NEED TO QUOTE NUMBERS FOR EACH ACCOUNT.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT MONIES WILL NOT BE CREDITED TO YOUR ACCOUNT UNTIL THE DAY IT IS RECEIVED BY COUNCIL.
CHEQUES ARE SUBJECT TO CLEARANCE BY YOUR BANK.
Council charges interest daily at 10.4% per annum on all outstanding rates. In addition to this, Council also imposes a immediate 6% penalty on all instalment amounts which are not paid by the due date.
If a ratepayer fails to pay any instalment within 21 days of the date on which the rates are due, Council may require the ratepayer to pay the full amount owing. Council's debt collection policy states that after this period an initial reminder will be sent asking for payment or an agreement within 14 days. If there is no response, recovery of the debt through Council's collection agency will occur. This policy also applies to unpaid instalment as occurring and water meter accounts. Ratepayers are responsible for payment of all collection costs and legal fees - PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS ACTION MAY AFFECT YOUR CREDIT REFERENCE FILE.
Any ratepayer who is experiencing difficulty paying their rates or water meter account should contact Council's Rates Officer, Shannon Cumming on 6376 7940 at the earliest opportunity, as it may then be possible to arrange a payment schedule which is agreeable to both Council and the ratepayer. This is essential to avoid council taking legal action to recover the outstanding rates.
In accordance with the Local Government Act 1993, any properties which are in defult of payments for rates for 3 or more years, may be sold by Council at public auction.
Council must receive any change to postal address in writing, either sent to PO Box 21, St Helens 7216, or click on this link to submit an electronic request for this change.
All changes of postal address must quote the Property Number (PID) for which they apply.
When changes are made to your property such as improvements to buildings, new buildings, subdivisions or amalgamations, the Land, Capital & Assessed Annual values of your property may be altered.
When you build or remove a structure from your property, Council will submit a list of these properties to the Valuer General to be re-valued.
Once the Valuer General has assessed the properties the new valuations will be forwarded to Council. If there are any changes to the A.A.V (Assessed Annual Value) of your property the rates on your property may be altered. In this instance you would then receive a supplementary valuation notice which is dated from the date that your Certificate of Occupancy or Completion is issued to the end of the financial year. This supplementary valuation notice will take into account any rates which you may have already paid on the vacant land or before the improvement were completed.
When a subdivision is approved the plans will be forwarded to the Land Titles Office to create the new Titles and they will then forward the information to the Valuer General so that the new Titles can be valued and rated separately.
If you have purchased a property from a subdivision you will also receive a supplementary rates notice, this notice will be dated from the date that the subdivision was approved. The original or parent property will normally be cancelled on the same date and any debits or credits which were on that original property will be transfer proportionately to the new properties.
If you have more than one Title and they are adjoining, it may be possible to have them valued together for rating purposes, in this instance you will need to contact the Valuer General directly and arrange for them to be re-valued.
PLEASE NOTE IF YOU RECEIVE A SUPPLEMENTARY RATES NOTICE IT REPLACES ANY PREVIOUS RATES NOTICE YOU RECEIVED.
