Your annual rates notice is made up of ordinary rates and charges.

Rates

Rates are one of the sources of income for council. Council collects rates to help fund local infrastructure and services. Rates are calculated by multiplying a rate in the dollar (set by Council) against the land value of a property (determined by the Valuer Generals Department). This is called ad valorem rating (“at the value of”).

Council can use:

• Ad valorem rates on their own
• Ad valorem with minimum amounts. Where minimum amounts are used, you calculate the ad valorem amount and if it is below the minimum, the amount payable is taken upwards to the amount of the minimum rate. The Minister sets the limit for the minimum rate each year.
• Ad valorem with base amounts. A base amount is a flat amount which an ad valorem rate must be combined with. You cannot have base amounts alone. Base amounts cannot exceed 50% of the total income from the category or subcategory.

Each year the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) tells councils how much they can increase their rates, based on how much the cost of things that councils typically use has gone up (Local Government Cost Index). This is called the rate peg. The rate peg sets the maximum increase in each council’s general income for the financial year. It does not apply to domestic waste, water or sewerage charges. Councils have discretion to determine how to allocate the rate peg increase between ratepayer categories. As long as its general income remains within the set maximum increase, councils may increase categories of rates by higher or lower than the rate peg.

Ordinary rates apply to all rateable properties. Properties that are exempt under section 555 and 556 of the Local Government Act 1993 (“the Act”), do not pay ordinary rates. Examples include Crown Land, schools, hospitals and churches. The income from ordinary rates can be used for any council service, except those prohibited by the Act. E.g. income from ordinary rates cannot be used to fund domestic waste management services (s504 of the Act).

Before making an ordinary rate, the council must have declared each parcel of rateable land in its area to be within one of the following categories:

• Farmland
• Residential
• Mining
• Business

Charges

Council makes an annual charge for the following services:

• Water supply services
• Sewerage services
• Domestic waste management services

These charges are flat amounts with no relationship to land value. No type of charge raises extra money for a council, beyond providing future funding for the service it directly relates to. Income from domestic waste management service charges must be put back into domestic waste. The same goes for sewer and water income.

Water Supply

Water charges are set to cover the cost of providing water, using a dual-pricing system. An access charge (with differing rates for both residential and commercial properties) as well as a usage fee, per kL of water used. The access charge is calculated based on the size of the meter. The larger the meter, the larger the access charge. Water access charges are levied on all properties to which the service is available, regardless of whether water is connected to the property. If no meter is connected, the default rate for one 20mm service is charged.

Residents in the villages do not pay water usage charges. They do not have access to potable water, but non-potable water is available, subject to the payment of a non-potable water access charge. All properties within the Nymagee, Euabalong and Euabalong West water supply area are charged an access fee, regardless of whether water is connected to the property. There is a connected fee and unconnected fee. Connected properties within the Mount Hope water supply area are charged an access fee.

Sewerage Charge

Council sets sewer charges on a cost recovery basis. An access charge applies to each parcel of residential land where the service is available. The charge is payable regardless of whether the service provided is used.

Sewerage usage charges apply to all non-residential properties. The charge applies to each kilolitre of sewerage discharged to the sewerage system. Unless the volume of sewerage is directly metered, a sewer discharge factor is applied to the metered water consumption to calculate the volume discharged. The pricing system is based on water industry best-practice to ensure the fair distribution of the cost of providing services across the community, removing the occurrence of low users subsidising higher users, and to provide more appropriate usage indicators to enable you to manage your water usage more efficiently.

Sewerage service charges are allocated to non-residential customers based on:

• The water meter size
• Use of the service (i.e. office, workshop, laundromat) which is used to calculate the sewerage discharge factor
• Water consumption

The invoice is calculated on a quarterly basis, by using the following formula which has been adopted from the Liquid Trade Waste Regulation Guidelines 2021:

SDF x (AC + (C x UC)

Where:

SDF = Sewer Discharge Factor
AC = Annual Charge Based on Meter Size
C = Water Consumption
UC = Usage Charge

If calculation is less than minimum quarterly charge, then the quarterly charge is payable for the quarter.

The sewerage discharge factor represents the percentage of the metered water consumption, which is discharged to the sewerage system from a non-residential property. The sewerage discharge factor is based on business activity.

Domestic Waste Management

Section 496 of the act makes it mandatory for councils to raise an annual domestic waste management service charge for every residential assessment where the service is available. The charge is to cover the provision of the service and the upkeep and future maintenance of the facilities. Vacant land is charged a lower rate.

Rateable assessments within 5kms radius of the following locations are charged an annual fee as they have access to a tip: Euabalong Post Office, Euabalong West Public School, Nymagee Police Station, Mount Hope Hotel and Canbelego intersection of Edward and Coronga Street.

To view the domestic waste collection map for Cobar, please click here.

Water Usage Charges

Council uses a two-tier water usage charge system. The charges for each tier are updated each financial year and can be found in our Fees and Charges.

• 0 to 550kL
• Over 550kL

Water is billed quarterly. Bills are generally issued in June, September, December and March.