Ratepayers across the Macleay are being encouraged to help address this inefficiency by nominating to receive their rates notice as an email, rather than printed mail. 

Council’s budget allocation for postage in the current financial year is just over $120,000. Ratepayers taking up the offer to switch to electronic rates notices can help reduce this cost significantly and allow that money to be redirected to other services that have a community benefit. 

Not only can ratepayers help make the rates process more cost effective and environmentally friendly, anyone who switches to emailed rates notices before the end of August will go into the draw to win $2,000 off their rates bill. 

Presenting the competition proposal to Council at the July meeting, Kathy Oliver, Director of Community Engagement advised Councillors that this type of incentive program has been used by many local Councils to encourage ratepayers to switch to electronic rates notices. 

“It is estimated that through this incentive Council will recover the one off costs of the competition by reducing the costs of print production and postage.

“Emailed rates notices are a fast, simple and secure way of receiving the notice and will potentially prompt people to set up electronic payment methods further simplifying the process. 

“Unlike other organisations Local Government can’t charge for issuing paper copies of accounts to help recover postage and printing costs, so we are appealing to the ratepayers to help achieve this efficiency gain,” said Ms Oliver. 

Details about on switching to emailed rates notices are being sent out to all ratepayers this week. More information, including the form to complete and the conditions of the competition and $2,000 prize is available on Council’s website at www.kempsey.nsw.gov.au/rates.