Lithgow Council is encouraging people who disagree with their revised land valuations to consider lodging an objection.
The NSW Government’s Valuer General recently issued 1 July 2022 valuations for all properties. This re-valuation process is undertaken each three years.
Most people will own a residential or farmland property. In Lithgow’s case, the residential values have increased by an average of 79% in the last three years, while farmland has increased by an average of 71% in the same period. But there are some properties which have increased in value much more than the average.
The Council has emphasised that it does not receive any additional income as a result of the re-valuation process. But the values are used by the Council to arrange properties into an order, with high value properties paying more in land rates than lower value properties. So the new re-valuation will re-determine what a landowner pays in rates compared to other landowners in the same categories. Some people will pay more, and some people will pay less.
The Council’s General Manager, Craig Butler said, “The Council has no choice other than to use the new valuations to determine the rates for individual properties.”
Mr Butler added, “People should look closely at the advice they have received about their land’s value. If your land has increased less than the average you will pay less. But if it has increased by greater than the average you will pay more. If you consider that your new valuation is incorrect, consider lodging an appeal to the Valuer-General. Details of the last day to object can be found on the notice from the Valuer-General.”
