Municipal Revaluation 2010
The valuation of Land Act 1960 provides that a Council must cause a valuation of all rateable land within its municipal district to be made as of 1 January in every even calendar year and return to the Council before 30 June in that year. Accordingly, Council is required to undertaken a valuation with an effective date of 1 January 2010.
Council voted to give notice (as required by the act) of its intention to cause a municipal valuation to be made with an effective date of 1 January 2010.
Council also considered the proposal from the State Government to centralize the valuation functions to the State Government through the Valuer General. This function is currently undertaken by Councils with the State Revenue Office nominally contributing 50% of the costs of revaluations.
Council identified a number of issues regarding the proposal. The most significant is that they feel the process has been rushed and has provided a lack of opportunities for Councils to meaningfully respond to the proposal. Other issues included: lack of evidence that the process would achieve its stated outcomes of cost and quality aims, governance queries as to whether it is appropriate for the State to both act as the contract manager and the auditor of valuations.
Council representatives also raised the question of the current ownership of the valuation data and whether the proposed centralization impinges upon any ownership rights of councils. There is the concern that there is the potential to utilize the valuation database for commercial and policy purposes in the future.
Mayor of Strathbogie Shire Council, Howard Myers said, "Council opposed this proposal and recommended that Council enter into a licensing agreement with the Valuer General to provide access to valuation data for commercial and policy purposes. Council believes that it would be a customer service nightmare with no real cost savings and that the state government will not have the local knowledge to effectively handle the valuations in local communities."
For more information: Marli Kelly 0409 410 178