Rates review policy under spotlight

The meeting was used as a platform to raise concerns about rates bills; one Glen Austin resident produced photographs to prove his property should be zoned as agricultural, as the area had untarred roads, no streetlights and a donga near the entrance to the property. However, his bill reflects a residential-zoned property.

While this and other objections were noted, the city council’s evaluators were not present to discuss bills. Deputy director of policy and revenue enhancement for the city council, Veli Hlophe, said the meeting was for property owners to review and add proposals to the 2014/2015 rates policy.

Hlophe said, “The rates policy guides the city [council] in all aspects of levying rates on property owners as required by the local government municipal property rates Act 6 of 2004. Council levies different rates for different categories of rateable property based on zoning… during the city’s budget process the city determines the rates tariffs for the new financial year.”

He added that the property owners’ financial pressures – including the fuel price, cost of living and the high number of requests for rebates – were also considered. Furthermore, the revised rates policy proposes to introduce new property categories: agricultural residential, agricultural business, agricultural other, multipurpose residential, multipurpose business and municipal property. In the current provision of the rates policy, residential property owners can get rebates on two conditions: if they have limited income or are on pension.

Hlophe said proposed amendments to the city council’s rates policy include reviewing the agricultural holding ratio, business ratio, sectional title density rebate and a two-year pension renewal period.

The objection period is now closed but property owners will have an opportunity to object again in April when the draft policy is released.