" Pay by the month " plan !

The plan to spread the cost of fire services from a levy on insurance policies to a wider collection by way of a levy based on property values was discussed by Wollongong council - and rejected.   Council was concerned that ratepayers would think this was some sort of new council tax if the collection was an addition to the home rating system.

Councils may argue against being the tax collector, but if the state government passes legislation to collect the tax that way - they will be legally stuck with the job.   It looks like that will mean that the average homeowner will need to find about $ 320 extra when the rates bill falls due.

This would seem to be a good time to have a look at the question of how the council rating system works, because it has remained virtually unchanged  for many years.   The biggest modification has been the concession to split annual rates into quarterly payments instead of demanding the whole amount up front.

Council would do well to consider how the insurance industry reacted to the ever increasing size of premiums.   Some enterprising companies introduced " pay by the month " premiums, deducted monthly from the policy holders bank account.    Initially, these attracted an extra charge for the convenience, but competitors saw an advantage in dropping this charge and the practice is now universal.

Isn't it time council offered this same monthly payment system to spread the rates burden, and wouldn't this be essential if the government used it's legislative powers to make councils the collection agent for this new fire services levy ?

We live in an ever changing world.   There could be benefits to council finances if the rates flow changed to twelve monthly dividends in place of mostly quarterly payments, as things now stand.   It would certainly help many household budgets to put council rates in the same category as the monthly automatic bank payments that take care of house and car insurance, mobile phones, and a host of other services that offer this payment method.    In fact, monthly auto payments are gradually becoming the only accepted way of attaining many services in recent times.

Wollongong council is offering a chance in the raffle of a brand new car for those who pay their annual council rates in full instead of opting for the quarterly payment concession.   This seems to be looking to the past - rather than adapting to the present - and much less than what the future seems to hold.

At some point, monthly rates payments seem to be inevitable !