By Ann Marie Angebrandt
WYNDHAM City Council will withdraw a pay-in-full option for residents who don’t pay their rates.
The council has about $5.7 million in outstanding rates on its books, or about 8 per cent of its total rate revenue.
A growing number of defaulters promised to pay by the council-set February deadline, but failed to do so.
The majority of councillors voted to stop the trend by encouraging payment by instalments.
Full payments would still be allowed, but only if paid when rate notices were sent out in September.
However, Councillor Henry Barlow said the council should not be deciding how ratepayers budget their expenditure.
“I was in business for 25 years, and think residents have the right to make those decisions by themselves,” he said.
“That’s really Big Brother stuff.”
