Rates revolt costs $1m in penalty payments

By WAYNE THOMPSON

Protest action against last year's Auckland Regional Council rates rises has given the council a million-dollar bonus in penalty payments.

Thousands of residents who either refused to pay or partly paid the 2003-04 rates as a protest have been hit with 10 per cent penalties on overdue amounts.

The council confirmed yesterday it had collected $1.13 million in penalty payments with 95 per cent of rates bills paid.

A rates revolt followed the council's first attempt to directly rate the region's 450,000 properties last July.

Although the council said the overall rate increase was 34 per cent it in fact went up as high as 600 per cent for some properties.

The man who started the ratepayers' protest, John Drury of the Orewa Ratepayers and Residents Association, said yesterday it seemed a bitter irony that protesters had swollen the ARC's coffers by their acts of defiance.

But this took nothing away from the value of the protest, he said.

"I don't see it in the way that the ARC has a million bucks they shouldn't have.

"They might have a million but I reckon they are still owed $3 million - they are way behind in collection.

"About 30,000 people are still digging their toes in and not paying anything and a similar number have partly paid and been penalised."

Mr Drury said when the protest campaign started thousands of people wanted strong protest action but did not want to break any laws.

"We suggested they pay by cheque 10 per cent per month for 10 months and attach a note to that effect to their payment. But the ARC banked the cheques and still added the 10 per cent penalty. So, what did we have to lose by not paying any?"

Staggering payment by 10 monthly cheques defied the council's instructions that the only way people could spread their rates burden and avoid a penalty was by prearranged direct debit for 10 equal payments over 10 months.

Mr Drury said he did not know how many people had drip-fed cheques as a protest but he believed it was an effective ploy.

Mr Drury said a lot of people who had not paid anything, like himself, were hanging back to the last minute. They had the satisfaction of not letting an uncaring council use their money to further their empire building, he said.

The council will impose a further penalty on 2003-04 rates that are overdue on July 1, 2004 when the rate for 2004-05 is struck. The regionwide protest involved 30 groups, a petition signed by 40,000 people, and individual calls and letters to local mayors, councils, MPs and the Prime Minister.

"We achieved what we set out to do," said Mr Drury.

Without such a large protest, he did not believe the Government would have offered the $1.6 billion transport package and it would have been left to ratepayers to struggle on with further large rate rises to cover public transport improvements.

ARC councillor Brian Smith said the $1.13 million in penalties was a bonus which the council had not expected. Although protesters had made a "supreme sacrifice" through their pockets, he said, some good had come from it.

The outcry had been a warning to politicians at all levels, he said, especially to the ARC that people would not put up with big increases this year. The council is looking at an overall rates rise of 3.2 per cent for 2004-05.

Councillor Ian Bradley said the rate collection was ahead of the council's forecast despite claims to the contrary by protest groups.

Mr Bradley said rates revolt leaders had encouraged people not to pay their rates by saying they would make the council change its mind about enforcing penalties.

But the council was legally obliged to collect them.

Despite requests, the council is not introducing payment by instalments and is instead looking at extending the time people have to pay their rates.

It will extend the discount date from two weeks to three weeks and the due date from four weeks to six weeks from invoice date.


RAKING IT IN

Rates required July 1, 2003: $117.15 million (incl gst)

Collected at March 31, 2004: $110.5 million (incl gst)

Average household rate: $226

Rates bills fully paid: 312,488

Bills partly paid: 64,234

Bills where no payment: 27,821

10 per cent penalty on bills: $1.13 million

2.5 per cent discount on bills: $1.30 million

Third reminder letters sent: 22,372