At its Special Council Meeting on Thursday evening (26 March) The Barossa Council endorsed changes to its Rates Hardship Policy, providing relief for rate payers who are experiencing hardship due to the Covid19 pandemic.
In practical terms, the endorsed changes will mean that those who are experiencing hardship as a result of Covid19 will be able to apply to defer all rates and charges due this financial year for a period of six months, until 26 September 2020, without fines or interest.
“It is clear that the management of Covid19 requires a coordinated and planned response to support the community, particularly where they may have been financially impacted through business closures or the general downturn in the current economy,” said Mayor Bim Lange.
In addition, Council endorsed waving lease and licence fees for the next 12 months as a means to support the many community clubs, groups and organisations which utilise Council facilities for their operations, acknowledging that these groups may otherwise have limited ability to survive the financial impacts of the pandemic. Council are also commencing the development community recovery plans to support the economic and social rebuilding of our community.
“It is important that we are not only managing the risks to public health at this time, but also that we are looking at the whole picture for community wellbeing, therefore we hope that these changes to our Hardship Policy, will provide some relief to those in our community who are facing challenging times,” said Mayor Lange.
Rate payers seeking to apply to defer their rates can apply here.