Bega Valley Shire Council will consider a report at its October meeting proposing the sale of 62 properties with long-standing unpaid rates and charges – some dating back more than two decades.
The properties identified for sale account for more than $800,000 in outstanding rates and charges, representing approximately 40% of Council’s total rates debts.
In a statement, the Council said its consideration of the report reflects its responsibility to ensure fairness for all ratepayers and maintain the financial sustainability of essential community services and infrastructure.
Under Section 713 of the Local Government Act 1993, councils may sell land where rates and charges have remained unpaid for extended periods and other debt recovery efforts have been unsuccessful.
Mayor, Russell Fitzpatrick said Council has a responsibility to manage public funds fairly and financially responsibly.
“The sale of land process is undertaken only as a last resort after all reasonable recovery actions have been exhausted,” Mayor Fitzpatrick said.
“Before reaching this stage, we have tried every avenue to contact property owners and get payment arrangements in place.
“Many of the properties involved are small parcels of land where no dwelling is in place, and in some cases ownership details have been unclear.
“Rates are a vital source of funding that help Council provide the infrastructure, facilities and services our community relies on every day.”
The properties identified include 50 small portion parcels, nine vacant residential lots, two occupied residential properties and one commercial property.
The Council said many of the outstanding debts have remained unresolved for periods ranging from 6 to 23 years.
A significant number of the small parcels were created through historic road realignments, subdivision adjustments and title registration anomalies. In many cases, the registered owners are deceased, cannot be located or have no current connection to the land, making recovery of outstanding rates difficult through conventional debt collection processes, Council stated.
Property owners have been notified that the report is being considered by Council. If Council resolves to proceed, affected property owners will continue to be notified throughout the process and will still have opportunities to resolve outstanding debts before any sale proceeds.
Under the legislation, any sale must undertaken through a public auction process, with public notification in the NSW Government Gazette and local newspapers.
