About 3,600 ratepayers in Wyong who live in villas and units are the unlucky ones who have seen their ordinary council rates rise by $265 this year.
Despite the rates in the former Wyong council area on average decreasing by about $2 a week, it’s the people on land valued at less than $160,000 who are paying more.
Once the land value gets above $160,000, rates in the north of the Central Coast local government area start to
actually decrease in comparison to last year.
Niona Safran lives in a villa in Wyong and says the hike in her rates is not fair.
Safran’s unimproved land value for her villa is in the low $50,000s.
Under the former Wyong base rate, her rates would have been $300.
However with the harmonisation of the Gosford and Wyong areas, the base rate was brought up to match Gosford’s base rate which was $544 last year and is $565 this year.
This is a jump of $21 for former Gosford area residents but a huge $265 jump for some former Wyong area residents.
Safran is not impressed.
“I don’t feel like it’s our fault the council went broke,” she said.
“We didn’t get value for money before it all went bad, there’s been no proper investigation and now I’m paying the price.
“I don’t think it’s fair,” she said.
In another Wyong example, 20 units on a block of land valued at $1,560,000 sees each unit’s unimproved land valued at about $85,000.
Last year the owners of those units each paid just over $300 for their ordinary rates but this year they each pay $565.
By comparison, land worth $750,000 in Wyong last year paid $2,897 in rates.
This year, that went down to $2,568 thanks to harmonisation – a decrease of $329.
The more expensive the land, the greater the decrease in rates in the former Wyong area from last year to this year.
Safran complained to council and got a form letter in reply explaining when and where the council had explained the “complex” matter in the lead-up to the changes.
The changes were explained in the fine print on the council website.
“Under rates harmonisation, the creation of a uniform rating structure will mean some of the existing rates will go up and some will go down from 2021-22,” council said.
“How much Ordinary Rates (less Domestic Waste Management charge) will go up or down due to harmonisation is largely dependent on the value of land.
“Former Gosford City Council area residential ratepayers’ land values are on average 43 per cent higher than former Wyong Shire Council residential land values.
“Due to the different rates structure of the former Councils and the rates freeze implemented by the NSW Government, former Gosford City Council residential ratepayers have on average been paying nine per cent less for their rates compared to resident ratepayers in the former Wyong Shire Council area.
“This means that former Gosford City Council ratepayers have been paying significantly less in rates than former Wyong Shire Council ratepayers with the same land value.
“This imbalance will be corrected from 1 July 2021 with rates harmonisation.
Following rates harmonisation and the SV increase, rates in the Wyong Shire Council area are on average decreasing by 20 per cent due to harmonisation.
“With the 15 per cent SV, the average change for ratepayers in the former Wyong Shire Council is a $2 per week decrease and rates in the former Gosford City Council area are on average increasing by 26 per cent due to harmonisation.
“With the 15 per cent SV, the average change for ratepayers in the former Gosford City Council is an $8 per week increase,” the council said.
“It is important to note that the above figures are averages and some rates in Wyong Shire Council will still go up with rates harmonisation, particularly those on the current minimum rate which will be harmonised to $565,” council said.
“For approximately 3,600 ratepayers in the former Wyong Shire Council, mostly unit owners, the minimum Ordinary Rates payment will increase from $300 to $565 a year.
“In the former Gosford City Council those who paid the minimum of $554 will see this increase to $565.
“The harmonised minimum rate of $565 for the Central Coast is set annually by IPART and is the maximum that a Council can charge.
“This equates to $10.87 per week for the services which Council provides to the community from rates.”
Administrator Rik Hart said he would not comment on individual rates, but said Newcastle’s minimum rate was $807 compared to the Coast’s $565.
He said Cessnock did not have a minimum rate so any multi-unit dwelling there paid a full rate just as if they had a house on a block of land and therefore the average rate for Cessnock was about $1890.
Merilyn Vale and Sue Murray