[Andrew Butcher]

Hi Graham

It has always been my view that if a ratepayer has the Gold Card and it is not stamped TPI or EDA they are required to be PCC approved. The Regulations define an eligible person as:

Clause 134 (a) persons who receive a pension, benefit or allowance under Chapter 2 of the Social Security Act 1991 of the Commonwealth, or a service pension under Part III of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 of the Commonwealth, and who are entitled to a pensioner concession card issued by or on behalf of the Commonwealth Government,

The pertinent word is ‘and’ following on from “or a service pension under Part III of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 of the Commonwealth”. Essentially from above it has always been my opinion and practice to allow Gold Card stamped TPI or EDA (which is identified in the Veterans Entitlement Act), however if not stamped check on-line with Centrelink and if GCH = Yes but PCC = No the ratepayer is not an eligible pensioner.

Happy to rethink if any other council has contrary advice.

Hope this is helpful.

Regards,

Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi everyone

The ACCC released this recently regarding what recoverable costs are in calculating a merchant service fee.

Importantly are the ‘permissible costs’ thing like costs in providing EFTPOS terminals.

https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/payment-surcharges-only-charge-what-it-costs-you

Regards,

Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi Mick

We recently obtained legal advice on a number of key points primarily this was regarding whether a car parking space be categorized residential. The answer – Yes if used in conjunction with a residential apartment.
We also discussed with our solicitors the terms of applying aggregation fairly and ‘could cause hardship’ as required by the act. The advice – Council needs a clear policy on what it deems to be fair and what could cause hardship. We have a policy that allows aggregation of one suite (i.e. residential or business) with one car parking space and one storage unit.

We did this as at a minimum a residential owner would conceivably require one of each anything above that was a commercial decision based on affordability.

I hope this is helpful.

Regards,

Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi Dave,
Short answer is no, but I don’t think your issue is with granting a concession its with a concession ceasing. The letter issued by Centrelink usually has a commencement date and an end date on it. What this then means is that document is only valid for the period stated (I believe 14 days) which technically means they are only eligible between the start and end date.
So, if you have levied the rates and they become eligible grant the rebate according to the date they go on, then take them off based on the end date on the letter.
Seems ridiculous but those are the rules. We had the same issue happen here which also escalated to the local member and we advised as per above. Our process has always included taking a copy of the letter which is attached to the PCC application and we ask the ratepayer to post or bring in a copy of their card when they get it. Mostly we ask them to come back once they have their card and people agree to this.
Good luck.
Regards,
Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi everyone

We were audited this year by the Auditor General and can advise that they went through the Act asking detailed questions regarding compliance. The date of service and eligibility came up a number of times and totally agree with Robert that there is a risk to any council that does not strictly adhere to the legislation.

Hope this is helpful.

Regards,

Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi Suzy

Yes I believe you can perform a pensioner verification at any time and as often as you may like.

I am not sure what value would be added by running a verification at the time of the PCS because the process is in a state of continual change, seems excessive to me.

I would recommend at least verifying data twice a year, if your council is like every other in NSW you probably get more applications in July/August than any other time. Accordingly I would recommend October prior to sending November quarterly reminders and also April to capture changes prior to the annual levy but also in time for the fourth instalment run. I think you will find two runs a year fits with best practice.

I am not aware of any legislative requirement to verify pensioner information, but there is a requirement for only those who are eligible pensioners to receive a rebate which kind of saying that some sort of verification should be performed.

I hope this is helpful, let me know if you need anything further.

Regards,
Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi Emma

Business, definitely cant be residential, farmland or mining. Would be interested in seeing the reasons for any other category.

Regards,
Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

I also agree with the approach Mid-Western take and it has been our approach for many years.

Regards,

Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi Ian, I agree ‘reasonable’ is very much subjective and what you or I consider reasonable may not be the same as some of our ratepayers.

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi David
In my opinion Commercial (non-vacant), storage of a motor vehicle.
I am going with a new notice, the layout I have copied from Wollongong City Council.
Hope this is helpful.
Regards,
Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi Dave
You are absolutely correct, all enquiries regarding the FESL as a reform should be referred to Treasury on 1300 78 78 72 or by email by visiting fesl.nsw.gov.au. All insurance ESL versus FESL costs need to be referred to the insurance monitor by phone 1300 60 77 23 or visiting eslinsurancemonitor@nsw.gov.au
Councils role is primarily to classify land, collect the FESL and remit to OSR. There is a work group that is directing its attention to how councils will be reimbursed for the additional work placed on the sector in performing these tasks.
Personally for my moderate home located in the sticks is up for home and contents (combined) in June. In 2015-16 I paid $265, for this year 2016-17 the renewal is $112, for 2017-18 the amount will be $187.
Not sure about your concept for valuations but in my view an even fairer system would be using capital values.
Hope this is of some help.
Regards,
Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi Suzi
You are correct there is no formal requirement in legislation or regulations. We wont be allowing direct debit in the form announced in the manual.
The advice I have been provided by our finance cash book staff is that this is outside of our policy and the nab wont allow the transaction to occur.
We have another workgroup meeting scheduled for early May and this matter will be discussed then.
I hope this is helpful.
Regards,
Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi Mary
I am interested in this topic but dare say we would not be prepared to go down this path just yet.
A more significant overhead for us is in providing copies of past notices and transaction listings for taxation purposes or as evidence of ownership for re-financing.
I am working on our finance manager to try and charge but it wont be for 2017-18.
Good luck.
Regards,
Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

Hi Suzi

We are not sending anything extra. We are requesting that customer service staff keep a record of the enquiries they receive which will allow us to determine whether or not to target specific questions in July.

Regards,

Andrew

[Andrew Butcher]

I agree, if you have the space why not draw peoples attention to the communication.

We included a similar text message that read:

“Fire and Emergency Services Levy
From 1 July 2017 the NSW Government will abolish the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) paid on insurance
policies and replace it with Fire and Emergency Services Levy (FESL) paid alongside council rates.
The first stage in this process is to classify all land and important information regarding your property is enclosed.
For further information and frequently asked questions please visit Council’s website http://www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au”

Andrew

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