Bid to resolve unpaid rates saga

by Martin Tiffany | 13th November 2009

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council yesterday made moves to address the problem of unoccupied Maori land that continues to accrue rates and penalties.

Miriam Taris, council's group manager finance and corporate development, said these category one properties are Maori properties that are unoccupied, have no income and multiple owners.

She said there were 41 properties in this category, with outstanding annual rates and penalties of $226,000 - 75 per cent of this balance is penalties.

The council heard that many are small blocks, in isolated areas with little real value.

 Although council chief executive Glenn Snelgrove said staff did make an effort to contact owners and work with them to get some value from the land through activities such as grazing and cropping.

He said this then meant the owners had a small income and the rates were paid.

Mr Snelgrove said by law they had to rate the land as it had a value.

The council agreed that staff undertake an assessment of the category one properties and look at transferring them to the annual remission list, meaning the amounts are taken off the outstanding rates list.

In addition to the category one properties, there are a further 86 Maori properties on the statute barred list with outstanding rates and penalties totalling $162,000.

This includes 74 category four properties, with almost $138,000 outstanding, that refuse to pay as many believe  Maori land should not be rated.