Father-of-four John Lawrence says he has been hit by a whopping 31 per cent increase in his council rates.
John, who lives with his family in Viewbank in Melbourne’s north-east, which is in the Banyule City Council area, claims he’s being bullied and threatened into paying an extra $750 a year.
That rise is despite his council having a rate cap of 1.75 per cent for the financial year 2022/2023.
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“My problem with this is, it’s just the lack of consultation and this just sheer demand,” he said.
John says he’s tried to complain to the council but hasn’t made any progress.
In the rate rise notification letter he was told that he’d be slugged a 10 per cent interest fee on any outstanding payments.
“There’s nowhere you can go, I’ve rung the councilor (who said) ‘I’ll get back to you’,” he told A Current Affair.
“I’ve rung the council themselves, (who said) ‘no, that seems right but we’ve had a few people from Viewbank complaining about the same thing’.
“Well come on guys, this is not right.”
The main influenza for Lawrence is he believes the council services in his area have reduced over time.
“We’ve also got problems with the trees, they keep dropping limbs, we keep reporting these issues to the council.
“We’ve got a road down here full of potholes, we’ve asked the council so many times to attend these potholes,” he said.
“How is it a council can get away with doing this sort of stuff?”
Dean Hurlston, vice president of Ratepayers Victoria, said there are a couple of things homeowners can do if they’re hit with a shock rate bill.
“The Ombudsman is very good at giving you an outline of what your rights are, and how you can actually talk to the Council,” he said.
“You can also object to the valuation on the actual rates notice, but you only have a couple of months to do that,” he said.
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Banyule City Council declined an on-camera interview but issued a statement.
“Increases to overall Council rates are in line with the rate cap set at 1.75 per cent for the 2022/23 year,” it said.
“Rates are calculated based on the Capital Improved Value (CIV) of each individual property.
“Each property is revalued annually by the Victorian Government Valuer-General Victoria and are reflective of increasing property prices over the 2021 year.
“Council is not responsible for setting property values.
“The value shown on the rates notice is the value of the property at 1 January of this year.
“Property owners can object to the Victorian Government valuation of their property and have until October 4 to do so.
“Overall Banyule has seen the overall valuations applied to properties increase by around 21 per cent compared to last year.
“Some suburbs have increased by more than that including Viewbank where the average valuation increase is around 31 per cent.
“Council does not receive any additional income through rising property values.
“As with all council’s, interest is only charged on overdue payments and is in line with the provisions of the Local Government Act 2022.
“Council allows six business days grace for late payments before interest is charged.”
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