Mistakes made in the last round of Otago Regional Council rates invoice have affected 972 ratepayers in Ōamaru.

Otago Regional Council is apologising to more than 14,700 ratepayers – in the Ōamaru and wider Dunedin district areas – with two errors identified.

Council chief executive Richard Saunders says the errors will require amended rates invoices to be sent to affected ratepayers.

“We’re sincerely sorry for the inconvenience caused to ratepayers and will be amending processes in the future to ensure there’s no repeat.”

In the Ōamaru area, a new transport rate was incorrectly applied and overcharged on a small number of contiguous properties (properties bordering each other with the same owner, and being operated as one unit), which should not have received the $5.45 (including GST) fixed charge.

The 972 people in Oamaru incorrectly charged the rate, have been advised by letter that their rates are being credited, and they can either reduce the payment amount to ORC if they have not yet paid their rates, claim a refund, or use as a credit toward next year’s rates, Richard says.

Separately, in the wider Dunedin district there was an error in the Rating Information Database which resulted in the expanded Leith indirect flood rate being omitted from some property rate charges.

“We’re very conscious of the financial demands being placed on ratepayers around the country at present, and I can only highlight that the majority of the undercharging for Indirect Leith flood protection rate averages between $15 to less than $20 per property,” Richard says.

The estimated cost of reinvoicing for the rates was less than $20,000.

Ratepayers for the Leith Indirect Rate will shortly be sent a letter with their amended invoice.

The correction to the Leith Indirect rate includes contributions from properties from the districts around places including Waikouaiti, Dunedin city, Middlemarch and Hyde, Mosgiel, Taieri, Outram, Allanton and Henley.