Masterton district ratepayer debt falling

LESS DEBT: Masterton District Council's finance manager David Paris says rate arrears are down compared to last year. PHOTO/FILE

Bad payers are not quite as thick on the ground as they were at this time last year, at least as far as Masterton district rates payments are concerned.

According to Masterton District Council's finance manager David Paris, $647,000 in rate arrears was on the books as of March 31, about $6000 less than at the end of March last year.

Included was $82,630 not collected from previous years, also down on the prior year's uncollected rates which was $92,000.

Mr Paris said all outstanding rates are now subject to "active debt management processes".

Ratepayers owing rates from this year's instalments have been sent reminder notices but under rating laws where a payment arrangement is in place the council cannot take recovery action until after June 30 due to mortgagee demands.

Mr Paris said an initiative encouraging more ratepayers to sign up to receiving rate notices by email was planned. "Direct debit, as a way of making payment, is also to be promoted more actively," he said.

In the first nine months of this financial year the council's expenditure funded by rates was $268,000 - or 1.4 per cent - underspent against the year-to-date budget.

Mr Paris said subsidised road maintenance had run above budget with extra costs incurred in rural areas.

It is forecast by the end of the financial year road maintenance costs will be 10 per cent higher than was planned for 2014/15.

Mr Paris said flood damage work had been carried forward from last year on the Big Saddle section of Masterton-Castlepoint Road.

This work had been half finished at the end of March with an extra $90,000 needed to finish the job by the end of June.

Work on the Mataikona Rd is also partly finished, after it was damaged by a storm.

As far as roading renewals were concerned, by the end of March under half of the planned programme had been finished.

Bridge structure upgrades were running ahead of plan with work completed on 14 bridges, two more than had been originally anticipated.

Mr Paris said as of the end of March work had not started on building the Black Swamp bridge, because consents and further design evaluations were needed.

Slightly less rate income than anticipated was spent on the Genesis Energy Recreation Centre because running costs were below predictions and at Mawley Park running costs were more than planned for, but this was due to higher occupancy. Income from Mawley Park was 15 per cent above expectations.