Redland City Council has today announced that canal and lake residents will start receiving refunds of special canal and lake charges by early November 2017.
The refund of canal and lake special charges follows a review by Council of the relevant legislation. Following this review Council took the proactive step to refund the unspent charges collected.
Redland City Council Organisational Services General Manager John Oberhardt said affected ratepayers would begin receiving refunds through the post within a month, following a comprehensive independent accounting project undertaken by an external consultant.
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“The refund of canal and lake special charges collected for the six years between 2011-12 and 2016-17 will affect owners of canal and lakefront properties at Raby Bay, Aquatic Paradise and Sovereign Waters who owned property throughout that period,” Mr Oberhardt said.
“It is important to note that the decision to refund unspent collected monies does not affect activities for other areas of the city, as the charges being refunded were collected from canal and lakefront property owners and reserved specifically for work on canals and the lake, such as dredging, cleaning and repairs to revetment walls.
“The review has involved records for over 1200 properties over a period extending back to 2011-12, and has included many cases where properties have been bought and sold over this period. The final number of cheques is likely to be in the order of 1650.
“Council sourced an independent company to complete the refund analysis and determine the amounts. The pre-printed cheques have been ordered and can take up to three weeks to be delivered.
“Ratepayers can expect their refund cheques to start arriving through the post by early November.”
Mr Oberhardt said Council would continue to roll out the scheduled canal and lake maintenance works for which these special charges had been collected.
City-wide engagement on the best way to manage and fund ongoing maintenance of the canals and lake is set to commence shortly.
If you have owned canal or lakefront property between 2011-12 and 2016-17 and have relocated please provide Council with your new contact details.
If residents or property owners have questions they should contact Council in writing at [email protected] or to P.O. Box 21 Cleveland 4163 or call 3829 8999.
