Rates-2018

Feb 2018:

You can view your 2018 General Valuation Roll and lodge an objection via:

Inspection of the roll is from 20 Feb 2018 to 6 April 2018.

You need to lodge your objections if any by 6th April 2018.

Feb 2018:

CoJ is conducting Property Rates Policy Review for 2018/2019.

Interested parties can attend meetings to discuss the policy - for details of available dates see:

(Ends Feb 2018)

Issues with current CoJ Rates Policy and suggestions:

The purpose of this objection is to ensure fair equitable treatment of rate payers without favoritism or discrimination.

1. Double Increase Property Rates

CoJ property rates are increase via two processes:

a) General Valuations Roll - every 5 years - based on property inflation

b) Cents in the Rand - every year - based on CPI

Adding (a) Property Inflation plus (b) CPI, results in double increases.

Over the last 10 years, in many cases, the double increase resulted in +/-15% percent compounding increases every year.

CPI has been 6% during the same 10-year period.

This double increase is unfair to ratepayers as we don’t receive double increases on our salaries.

We don’t receive double increase in CoJ services, if anything, there has been a decrease in services provided by CoJ.

*General Property Valuation Year, **0% after objections

FAIR: Ratepayers request that CoJ should be permitted only one of (a) or (b) as a mechanism for increases

FAIR: Reset "Cents in the Rand" back to 2008 values.

2. PickItUp - environmentally unfriendly billing.

The CoJ refuse (PickItUp) charge is based on the value of the property.

The value of the property has no relation to the number of bins generated.

There is no incentive to be environmentally friendly and to reduce the number of bins.

Properties that generate excess bins are not paying their proportional share.

PickItUp, as stated on the invoice is a "WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICE"

Ratepayers would like services to be “consumption” based.

FAIR: Ratepayers request that PickItUp billing should be based on the number of bins.

3. Sewer Charge - environmentally unfriendly billing.

The CoJ Sewer Charge is based on the value of the property.

The value of the property has no relation to the amount of sewerage generated.

There is no incentive to be environmentally friendly by reducing the amount of sewerage or to save water used for sewerage disposal.

Properties that generate excess sewerage are not paying their proportional share.

FAIR: Ratepayers would like the Sewer Charge to be based on the direct relationship of water consumption.

4. Ensure rates taxes are spent/used in a fair and equitable method without discrimination.

FAIR: Ratepayers request that 50% of the rates collected be spent in the community where they were collected.

Send your comments on the Rates Policy to:

RatesComment@joburg.org.za

RatesComments@joburg.org.za

pumzaj@joburg.org.za

tandisizwes@joburg.org.za