How rates are calculated
Your rates are your contribution towards services provided by Yarra City Council. How much you pay depends on the value of your property.
As part of forming Council's annual budget, Council works out how much money it needs to deliver all services, manage assets and carry out local government functions. It takes into account money received from fees, charges and government grants.
Council then works out how much income it needs to receive in rates. For the 2011/12 year, Council decided to increase its total rate revenue by 4.9% to $74.94 million.
This amount is then divided by the total value of all properties in Yarra to give the 'rate in the dollar'. For 2011-2012, the rate-in-the-dollar is 0.04344.
To calculate your rates, Council works out the Net Annual Value (NAV) of your property. The NAV is fixed by state legislation to be 5% of the Capital Improved Value (CIV) for residential properties. The amount for commercial or industrial properties is not fixed but must be a minimum of 5%. The CIV of each property is updated every two years, as part of a general property revaluation. The CIV appears on each rates notice.
The NAV is then multiplied by the rate in the dollar.
Example
The Capital Improved Value (CIV) of Ms Smith's property is $500,000.
5% of $500,000 = $25,000 (NAV)
$25,000 (NAV) x 0.04344 (rate-in-the-dollar)
Rates bill for 2011/2012 = $1086
(compared to $1049.25 in 2010-2011, when the rate in the dollar was 0.04197).
General property revaluation
Every two years, all Victorian Councils are required to re-assess the property values in their municipality.
The value of your property is reassessed by comparing your property to similar properties which have recently been sold in the same neighbourhood. Properties in Yarra were re-assessed as at 1 January 2010. The average increase in property value from 2008 to 2010 was 8.51%. Here is a media release about the results of that property revaluation. Here is more information on how property is valued.
Further information
Philip Mason
Manager - Finance
9205 5449
Philip.Mason@yarracity.vic.gov.au
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