Council working to claw back $905k

Council's chief financial officer Bronda Smith says people are not struggling to pay rates in Central Hawke's Bay.

The Central Hawke's Bay District Council is working hard to collect the almost $1 million it is owed in rates arrears.

Yesterday Hawke's Bay Today reported that ratepayers owed the Council $905,000.

The Council's chief financial officer (CFO) Bronda Smith said they were in a similar position last year with monies owed.

"If you go back and have a look at the report from last year the amount that has rolled over for us this year is lower," she said.

"We will keep on working on those different values whether they are five years or four years or three years.

"And it is a process that will hopefully keep trending down."

She noted that the formal procedure of debt collection started on June 30 after the close of the financial year.

The report says this process is where arrears are placed with the bank, sent to collection agency Baycorp New Zealand where no mortgage is available to collect on, or where the Council has come to an agreed payment arrangement to ensure a clear balance within an acceptable time frame.

Looking at the age of some of the arrears the council was carrying, Ms Smith cited several reasons for this.

"There is a variety or reasons as to why sometimes it is five years old," she said.

"Sometimes its because they have gone to Baycorp, they have paid some of it off but not all of it.

"Sometimes they have had deaths in the family and by the time the winding up of the will and getting either the property sold and some of those things can take a while to do.

"I know [five years] sounds like a long time for us.

"But we are working our way through collecting those debts and it does take a bit of time to get under the handle."

The CFO said while she knew of a number of councils that wrote off rates debt older than five years, it was not something the CHB Council did.

"We tend not to do that unless there is a specific reason for it."

When asked if she thought people in CHB were struggling to pay the rates, she said no.

"I wouldn't say that," said Ms Smith.

"I would just say that different people are in different situations."