In February 2007, The City of Cape Town released its new provisional Valuation Roll for Ratepayers’ responses or objections in preparation for the new rates bills. The new valuations were based on the City’s assessed market values of all types of properties as at 1 July 2006, using sample sales properties to interpolate the comparative values of unsold properties.
Ratepayers were given only 30 days within which to object, which period the GCTCA managed to increase to 60 days.
The information centres established to assist ratepayers in their objections supplied too little information for ratepayers to assess comparatively the accuracy of the City's valuation of their property.
Resulting from the widely differing and seemingly inconsistent valuations and rates bills which ratepayers eventually received, the GCTCA embarked upon an audit of the City’s 2006 General Valuation (GV).
This audit took over two years to complete, submit, discuss with City officials in an attempt to ascertain how the City had compiled its 2006 GV, what it has learned from its last two GVs it has executed and what it has learned from the extensive GCTCA audit and the other independent GV audit which was carried out by IPTI (the Canadian International Property Tax Institute).
Our audit also examined the City’s 2007 rates policy to establish a holistic impression of how of the rates formula would affect all ratepayers regardless of where they lived in the Unicity.
The above audit was prepared following a widespread impression amongst ratepayers, residents and property owners generally that the quality and accuracy of the City’s 2006 GV left much to be desired.
Areas of concern contained in the GCTCA audit included the obvious discrepancies in valuation in given areas, regardless of their economic levels.
For example, the City claimed that its 2006 GV had been a successful valuation because there had only been about 8% objections. The true analysis of this claim showed that of about 750 000 properties valued, 16% received reduced valuations, 50% received increased valuations by not exceeding 15%, 27% increased by between 15% and 39%, 5% increased between 30% and 40% and 2% increased by more than 40% some even up to 325%! Assuming that nobody whose valuations had increased by more than 15% would have objected, only about one third of the above total valuations would have been objected to, ie ±250 000 divided by ± 55 000 actual objections = ± 22%, which was in excess of the City’s claimed 8%.
High increases in valuations did not occur only in wealthy areas. The Bokaap was an example of such a situation where real hardship has resulted from the 2006 GV revised valuations, an entire area of seemingly asset-rich but cash-poor households.
Among many concerns, a difference of opinion arose with the City as to the proper interpretation of the basic component of the rates formula, the definition of “market value” as defined by the 2004 Municipal Property Rates Act and the lack of bigger rebates for indigent ratepayers at the bottom income earning levels.
The essence of the GCTCA’s concerns is that every ratepayer acknowledges that he or she will have to pay increased rates to help run the Unicity each year. However, every ratepayer wants to be treated equally in this matter. It is unacceptable and inequitable that, because of the valuation methodologies used, some people subsequently received reduced rates, some receive slightly increased rates and some receive massive increases, regardless of the economic levels of the areas in which they reside.
THE GCTCA believes that the City Valuation Department is indeed seeking ways to improve the quality of its 2006 GV and has welcomed a recent opportunity to continue with the dialogue which it initiated by means of its audit with City officials for the benefit of the City and all ratepayers.
At a meeting requested by the City’s Valuation Department, the GCTCA was shown how the City has reacted to the GCTCA and IPTI audits and has prepared for the new GV which was executed on 1 July 2009 with the new valuation roll and resulting rates bills due to be published in 2010. The GCTCA awaits the new GV with interest and continues to hope that it will play a constructive roll in the achievement of GVs which are fair to all concerned.
Philip Bam
John Powell (CBRRA)
For GCTCA
September 2009
EXTRACT FROM THE CONSTITUTION OF THE GREATER CAPE TOWN CIVIC ALLIANCE
NAME
1. The name shall be THE GREATER CAPE TOWN CIVIC ALLIANCE, henceforth referred to as “The Alliance”.
NATURE
2. The Alliance shall be a voluntary association which represents residents, ratepayers, civics and other interest groups within Cape Town, that are concerned with matters of government local and other spheres and are not aligned to any political party or other structure with a separate existence from their constituent members.
LEGAL IDENTITY & PERSONA
3. The Alliance is a “universitas personarum”, an independent legal persona or entity, distinct from the individuals who comprise it, having the capacity of acquiring rights of property, of incurring obligations and of suing or being sued in its own name and having perpetual succession, and neither members nor the Executive Committee shall be answerable for the debts or engagements of the Association.
AREA
4. The area of The Alliance shall be the municipal area administered by the CITY OF CAPE TOWN.
OBJECTIVES
5. The objectives of The Alliance shall be the following:
5.1 To protect and promote the interests of its members in regard to objectives 5.2 and 5.3
5.2 To obtain membership of any forum or similar body established for the discussion of, or negotiations on, the constitutional status of local government.
5.3 To make representations to and, where relevant, to gain access to any forum, committee, federation or like body established for the discussion of, or required to deal with, the constitutional, financial or organisational changes to government with the purpose of ensuring that any such changes to government in the area covered by The Alliance furthers the interests of its constituent members.
5.4 To work for and promote the recognition of The Alliance as a body whose prior participation in the decision process would first be sought to ensure the favourable outcome of government decisions affecting its area.
5.5 To set up effective public participation systems to ensure effective participation by the people in planned and proposed government processes.
5.6 The Alliance shall not normally concern itself with any issue which is parochial or peculiar to a member’s area unless the principles involved could affect other members, or unless support on an issue or issues is so requested by the affected area’s chairperson.
MEMBERSHIP
6. The members of The Alliance shall be those bodies that are ratepayers, tenants, residents, non-politically aligned civics associations or other bodies constituted for similar purposes, which are not members of any other regional or national body with aims or objects conflicting with those of The Alliance, and which;
6.1 Have a constitution with the aim or object of promoting its members’ interests in local government;
6.2 Have a provable list of members in good standing;
6.3 Accept the objectives of The Alliance and this Constitution by a minuted resolution at a properly constituted general meeting of its members.
6.4 Notwithstanding that membership is restricted to organisations as referred to in 6 above, each member Body may be represented at any meeting of the Alliance whether General or Executive by not more that two participating members, excluding observing members and providing that those two members are duly mandated to represent the body they belong to.
6.5. It is hereby recorded that membership of The Alliance is granted to a member organisation and that the individuals so representing that organisation are understood to speak for and on behalf of their parent body and so carry that body’s mandate to express their views.
7. The bodies, which have attested to this Constitution, shall be the members of The Alliance together with any body that is admitted as a member in terms of Clause 8.
8. 8.1 After the founding of The Alliance, any body which applies for membership shall, if it qualifies in terms of the provisions of Clause 6, be admitted as a member, excepting that The Alliance reserves the right to associate or disassociate itself with any other body in accordance with the provision of this Constitution.
8.2 It is hereby noted that the Ratepayers, Civics and Residents Associations that caused the formation The Alliance in June 2005 are automatically accepted as full members of The Alliance and, by virtue of their involvement in the inaugural meetings of the Association, hereby bind themselves to this Constitution.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE GCTCA AND ITS ACTIVITIES, CONTACT JOHN POWELL OF CBRRA ON campsbayratepayers@gmail.com
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