Chief executive of the West Coast Regional Council, Darryl Lew. Photo: Greymouth Star / Brendon McMahon
The clock is ticking on the reissue of 16,000 special rates invoices for West Coast Regional Council ratepayers after a billing blunder.
Those caught up in the mistake with special rating district bills are being urged to pay something by 30 November to avoid penalties.
Some ratepayers in the wider Greymouth area were shocked to find their total rates bills had increased by up to 100 percent when the first installment demand in early October.
In the rural settlement of Hari Hari, some were pinged by a bill jump of up to 300 percent within the Wanganui Special Rating district.
West Coast Regional Council chief executive Darryl Lew told a committee meeting on 6 November it planned to reissue about 16,000 invoices.
On 21 November Mr Lew said the invoice reissue was in hand and they just needed to finalise the mailout timeframe.
"It is progressing and of course we're wanting to do this as quickly as possible."
Risk and Assurance chairman Frank Dooley said it was now clear the original general rates bills were correct.
Cr Dooley said people should pay the invoices by the extended deadline of 30 November.
The council had made a mistake with how special rating district rates were billed - with the incorrect capital values applied, he said.
The council administers nearly two dozen special rating districts to maintain river and coastal protection assets like the Greymouth Floodwall.
"There's a lot of property on the West Coast in special rating districts," Cr Dooley said.
"There's something like 16,000 new invoices that have to be reissued, but the majority of the rates are accurate from the point of view of the general rates.
Everyone should pay their general rate, the uniform annual charge, the Te Tai o Poutini Plan and emergency management, he said.
"All those proportions are accurate."
Cr Dooley said those caught by the incorrect special rating increases - like Greymouth and Hari Hari - should at least pay something.
He suggested they look at their 2022-23 invoice and compare it with the current year.
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If people then paid something the council had the discretion to waive penalties, he said.
"We do need to have payments by the end of the month because it's important from the perspective of cash flow.
"The issue we have is those on direct debit or automatic payments. It will be difficult for them to make accurate adjustment."
However, this would be worked through as council reissued invoices to affected ratepayers and adjusted the second installment demand in May, Cr Dooley said.
"If ratepayers make an effort to [pay something], then from a council perspective we'll be very grateful, and there will be no penalties."
West Coast Regional Council risk and assurance chairman Frank Dooley is urging ratepayers to at least pay something while the rates mess is sorted. Photo: Supplied/LDR
Cr Dooley said some Wanganui special rating district ratepayers had received increased demands of several thousand dollars.
"It was just a pure mistake with a capital charge that should never have been applied."
Greymouth's special rating district was "more complicated" because that district's boundaries had been extended since last year, he said.
As a consequence the capital values applied by council "were incorrect, and they were over rated."
Cr Dooley said the adjustments in special rating districts could be anywhere from 48 cents to thousands for some of those in Hari Hair.
- Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
