Esperance Shire owed nearly $40k in unpaid rates

The Shire of Esperance is set to take its pursuit of unpaid rates to the next stage, with more than $39,000 owing.

According to the December, 2019 council agenda there were 17 residents with unpaid rates 14 days after the first due date, which was September 25.

Of the 17 properties, 12 had not responded to final notices including phone calls and a 'demand letter' or text messages from CS Legal, who represent the shire .

Three ratepayers have made payments less than the first installment amount and two have paid at least the equivalent of the first installment amount.

The total amount owing is $39,435.65.

The amounts owed for one property are as high as $9347.63 and $7378.79, with the lowest amount being $878.42.

Shire of Esperance chief executive officer Matthew Scott confirmed this amount was just for this year's rates.

Throughout the year, CS Legal has issued 120 ratepayers with demand letters for payment to be made without further legal action going ahead.

This gives recipients seven days to contact the shire to either make payment in full or to make a payment arrangement.

The next step of the debt recovery policy is to proceed with a General Procedure Claim to all ratepayers who have not responded to the demand letter.

This will result in debt recovery costs of about $550 for each assessment and is added to the outstanding debt. It also affects the ratepayer's credit rating.

If contact is made with the ratepayer before then they are warned of the pending claim and the affect it will have on their credit rating and the extra costs.

If they don't take up the 'installment option', which allows them to pay small amounts over time, by the first due date they forfeit this option. They have to either pay in full or enter into a formal payment arrangement.

At the same time last year 127 ratepayers were issued with demand letters. The total outstanding debt was more than double at $87,082.58.

The shire has recommended council review and acknowledge the outstanding rates at its December 17 meeting.