Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What is Rate Harmonisation? Rates Harmonisation is a requirement of the NSW Government for all merged councils. It is to create one rating structure to replace the former Corowa Shire Council and Urana Shire Council rating structures. In the past, our two councils had separate rating structures. We’re now one Council, meaning we need to establish the one rating system.
Rates Harmonisation Project Overview Federation Council is required to create one general rate structure following the merger of Corowa Shire Council and Urana Shire Council. This rates harmonisation process is: •
A requirement of the Local Government Act 1993;
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To be effective from 1 July 2021 for the 2021-22 Rate year;
Corowa Shire Council’s and Urana Shire Council’s rating structures varied greatly and the harmonisation project has attempted to realign to a common rate structure, providing a more consistent approach to all Federation Council ratepayers.
Rates Harmonisation Options Council considered numerous rating structure options to address rates harmonisation and has narrowed this down to three. Council is seeking community input on the options to gauge if there may be a preference within the community as to which option Council should proceed with. Details on the three options can be found inside. Further information is also available on Council’s website at www.federationcouncil.nsw.gov.au
Does Council receive additional revenue by harmonising rates? No. The harmonisation process takes the current total general rate and apportions it across ratepayers and one new sytem. The result is that the total rates revenue for Federation Council remains the same. How can changes in land value affect your rates? Councils must set rates based on the value of each parcel of land in their area. The values are determined by the NSW Valuer General. The Valuer General issues Notices of Valuation to advise landholders of their new land value that will be used in the calculation of their council rates. Notices of Valuation are generally issued every three years. This will almost invariably result in land value fluctuations every three years and therefore individual ratepayers may see a change in their council rate component. This in turn will result in a proportional shift of each property owner’s share of the total burden for rates. The total rates revenue collected by Council still remains the same, irrespective of land valuation shifts.