RATES

£10 Rise In Average Rates Bill For Ards

The average annual rates bill in Ards will rise by just under £10, after Ards Borough Council announced a rate increase of under 3%.

At a meeting on Tuesday 9 February, the Council agreed a rise of 2.98%, the lowest in thirteen years.

Mayor of Ards, Councillor William Montgomery, stressed that in the continuing tough economic climate, the Council had striven to minimise the impact of any rates rise on its ratepayers.

"Balancing our ethos of continuing improvement with efficiency is never easy. This year, as in any other, we faced what can now be considered the 'usual suspects' - those aspects of our budget over which we have no control when it comes to setting a rate - such as waste disposal, particularly the ever-increasing landfill tax, fuel and utility prices and employers' costs. Combined, these factors accounted for approximately £700,000 of expenditure in the coming year. Prudence has been our priority and, in considering budgets for this year, our goal has continued to be that any rise in the rate is kept to a minimum, ensuring the impact on our residents is therefore also minimised".

Councillor Montgomery also commented on the uncertainty over the future of local government in Northern Ireland:

"With regard to local government reform, our position has always been that the potential cost of any merger should not be borne by the ratepayer and we await clarification, not only on whether or when the new Council will be formed, but also on how central government proposes to fund the transition process. While keeping a weather eye, until that clarification comes, our focus is where it needs to be: right here and right now, seeking not just to continue delivering quality services, which we believe represent value for money, but to improve those services in line with the themes and aims outlined in our new Corporate Plan".

The Council's plans for the new financial year include expenditure of around £6M on major projects, such as two new community centres for Londonderry Park and the Scrabo estate, a re-fit of Comber Leisure Centre and refurbishment work at Ards Leisure Centre, including a new artificial pitch and renovations to the café and soft play area.

The Council's rate for non-domestic ratepayers also rose by just under 3% (2.97%), which combined with central government's new Small Business Rate Relief scheme, should reduce the rates burden for small enterprises. The relief will be applied automatically by Land and Property Services which calculates and issues rates bills, based on the net annual valuation of a business property. More information on the scheme is available from http://www.lpsni.gov.uk/lps_fact_sheet_-_small_business.pdf .

How our net budget of £17.9 Million will be spent in the financial year 2010/11 is illustrated below:

Recreation & Sport: £3,906,565 (21.7%)

Culture & Heritage: £384,387 (2.1%)

Tourism: £1,339, 328 (7.5%)

Community Services: £581,706 (3.2%)

Cemeteries: £185,732 (1%)

Environmental Health: £885,941 (4.9%)

Public Conveniences: £440,330 (2.5%)

Licensing: £55,666 (0.3%)

Other Cleaning: £1,060,889 (5.9%)

Waste Collection: £2,452,021 (13.6%)

Waste Disposal: £3,389,416 (18.9%)

Building control: £141,531 (0.8%)

Minor Works: £286,942 (1.6%)

Trading Services: £369,182 (2.1%)

Economic Development: £475,609 (2.6%)

Democratic Representation and Management: £970,445 (5.4%)

Corporate Management: £951,225 (5.3%)

Central Services to the Public: £376,344 (2.1%)

Non-distributed Costs: £210,111 (1.2%)

Notes: Community Services includes community centres, community festivals and good relations; Licensing includes petroleum, street trading, entertainment licences; Other Cleaning includes street cleaning, beach cleaning, litter control; Minor Works includes property maintenance, bus shelters, Christmas lighting; Trading Services includes harbours, Conway Square market; Democratic Representation & Management includes council meetings, staff costs (e.g. strategic planning, equality, freedom of information), members' expenses, Mayor's allowance; Corporate Management includes chief executive's office, public relations, performance management, area plan, bank interest, pension contributions; Central Services to the Public includes registration (births, deaths and marriages), election expenses, community safety, District Policing Partnership, contributions to other bodies, anti-social behaviour team.

Rating The Changes?

So when that bill lands on your doorstep, how do you rate the changes? District rates, regional rates, capital values…here's a simple guide to rates in Northern Ireland.

The Government is responsible for setting the Regional Rate - to fund services delivered centrally, such as roads, education, health and personal social services.

The Council is responsible for setting the District Rate - to fund services delivered locally, like bin collections, leisure centres, recycling facilities, building control and environmental health. As explained above, this year the Council agreed a rate increase of 4.97%.

The Regional Rate and District Rate are combined to make up your overall rates bill.

The Regional Rate accounts for approximately 60% of your bill, while the District Rate makes up the remaining 40%.

BUT

Remeber that the system used to calculate you final bill was changed by the Government. Now the rates you pay are based on the value of your home (as determined on 1 January 2005) - in other words, the higher your capital value, the higher your rates.

If you would like to know more about the rating system in Northern Ireland, contact the Eastern Office, Land and Property Services (formerly Rate Collection Agency), Londonderry House, 21-27 Chichester Street, Belfast, BT1 4JB, Tel: 0845 300 6360, Fax: 028 9025 2724, E: eastern.rating@lpsni.gov.uk , W: www.lpsni.gov.uk .