WCC Rates and Billing Service hasn’t been able to respond
Klaus Schliebe made this Official Information request to Wellington City Council
This request has an unknown status. We're waiting for Klaus Schliebe to read recent responses and update the status.
From: Klaus Schliebe
Dear Wellington City Council,
This is an official information request to identify reasons why WCC Rates and Billing Service has been unable to reply to writer’s enquiries over a period of 13 months and did not resolve addressed matters emailed on 25 May 2022. That deadlock situation generates following questions:
[1] How many Rates Officers deal with rates payer’s enquiries?
[2] What is the average response time for rates payer’s enquiries?
[3] How many enquiries remained unattended in 2021 and 2022?
[4] What is the name of the Rates Team Leader and his phone and email contact?
I wish that the answers to these questions help to make the WCC Rates and Billing Service rates-payer friendly and resolve the initial deadlock situation.
Yours faithfully,
Klaus Schliebe
From: BUS: Assurance
Wellington City Council
Tçnâ koe Klaus
Thank you for your email dated 31 January 2021 requesting the following information:
[1] How many Rates Officers deal with rates payer’s enquiries?
[2] What is the average response time for rates payer’s enquiries?
[3] How many enquiries remained unattended in 2021 and 2022?
[4] What is the name of the Rates Team Leader and his phone and email contact?
Our team will manage your request under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 which requires us to provide a decision as soon as possible, but no later than 1 March 2023, being 20 working days of receipt.
The reference number for your request is IRC-4396
Please contact us if you have any further questions.
Kind regards
The Assurance Team
Email: [email address]
Wellington City Council | W Wellington.govt.nz | |
The information contained in this email is privileged and confidential and intended for the addressee only.
If you are not the intended recipient, you are asked to respect that confidentiality and not disclose, copy or make use of its contents.
If received in error you are asked to destroy this email and contact the sender immediately. Your assistance is appreciated.
From: BUS: Assurance
Wellington City Council
Kia ora Klaus,
Thank you for your request, please see the attached response.
Regarding your request to the Rates team for your previous rates bills, as responses from FYI are published online we would instead advise you to contact [email address] so that we can send these to you directly, rather than have your personal information published.
Ngâ mihi
Claudia
Claudia Holgate
Senior Advisor Official Information Team
-----Original Message-----
From: Klaus Schliebe <[FOI #21688 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 31 January 2023 10:41 pm
To: BUS: Assurance <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - WCC Rates and Billing Service hasn’t been able to respond
Dear Wellington City Council,
This is an official information request to identify reasons why WCC Rates and Billing Service has been unable to reply to writer’s enquiries over a period of 13 months and did not resolve addressed matters emailed on 25 May 2022. That deadlock situation generates following questions:
[1] How many Rates Officers deal with rates payer’s enquiries?
[2] What is the average response time for rates payer’s enquiries?
[3] How many enquiries remained unattended in 2021 and 2022?
[4] What is the name of the Rates Team Leader and his phone and email contact?
I wish that the answers to these questions help to make the WCC Rates and Billing Service rates-payer friendly and resolve the initial deadlock situation.
Yours faithfully,
Klaus Schliebe
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This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
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[FOI #21688 email]
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From: Klaus Schliebe
Dear BUS: Assurance,
The response actually addressed the problem.
WCC hasn't answered three statistical data, and is unwilling to name the person in charge.
Any communication in writing remains by WCC unanswered and the reply to the information request is not different.
Yours sincerely,
Klaus Schliebe
From: BUS: Assurance
Wellington City Council
Kia ora Klaus,
FYI redacts personal email addresses, which is why this is not showing in the response.
As outlined in the response, our rates Team Leader is Paul Harrison and your questions were answered as below:
1. How many Rates Officers deal with rates payer’s enquiries?
The Rates team has a complement of FTE 10. As of 30 June 2022, and June 2021, it was 6 FTE. We were carrying a vacancy of 1 FTE during that period.
2. What is the average response time for rates payer’s enquiries?
Due to several factors including the increase in ratepayer queries, backlog at the start of the current rating year, and staff illness due to COVID-19 at the start in 2022, we have been attending to urgent queries in 8 working days and normal queries in 20 working days.
3. How many enquiries remained unattended in 2021 and 2022?
As at 30 June 2022, 1600 enquiries. In the 2021 financial year there was no system in place to track and monitor unattended queries.
If you feel any part of your request was not answered, please advise.
We would again encourage you to email us directly to obtain your rates bills, as we will not be releasing these on a public website. Our email address is on the website if this does not show up for you on FYI. https://wellington.govt.nz/contact-us/in...
Nga mihi
Claudia
-----Original Message-----
From: Klaus Schliebe <[FOI #21688 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 22 February 2023 9:00 pm
To: BUS: Assurance <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Official Information request - WCC Rates and Billing Service hasn’t been able to respond
Dear BUS: Assurance,
The response actually addressed the problem.
WCC hasn't answered three statistical data, and is unwilling to name the person in charge.
Any communication in writing remains by WCC unanswered and the reply to the information request is not different.
Yours sincerely,
Klaus Schliebe
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Klaus,
Thank you for your request, please see the attached response.
Regarding your request to the Rates team for your previous rates bills, as responses from FYI are published online we would instead advise you to contact [email address] so that we can send these to you directly, rather than have your personal information published.
Nga mihi
Claudia
Claudia Holgate
Senior Advisor Official Information Team
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #21688 email]
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
hide quoted sections
From: Klaus Schliebe
Dear BUS: Assurance,
Please pass on my answer for an Info Request extension:
To Wellington Council’s Governing Body
Thank you for your response to IRC-5309. It is unfortunate that the Council did not provide the most wanted stats as substance of the Information Request. The same declarations have been contradictory in previous years.
Again why not listing for 2023:
[1] How many enquiries have been received, answered within 5 or 20 working days, and how many are still unattended?
[2] How many people are on the payroll in given offices?
To quote “WCC is aiming” why not “doing” to meet rates payers satisfaction? Opening an escape route “called DIY” stands for given links for (1) for property search, (2) for getting notified by email, or (3) for updating contact details. The writer is conversant with using WCC web services, launched already IRC-2936 (asked why WCC’s web services sent out auto responses, but never followed up and resolved addressed issues) and the Office of the Ombudsman declined the investigation.
Something demands answers (3 examples):
when WCC pointed out delays caused by “high volumes of enquiries”, Covid, staff shortage, ill-fallen employees and by administration/management trying to white-wash failing services. Why not coming up with
[a] Stats in categories – numbers for enquiries (searched for infos, requested assistance, fixed reported problems, fault repairs…)?
[b] Stats from the Ombudsman office about breaches of rules and regulations such as council’s policy, LGOIMA, tax invoice rules…?
[c] Steps for taking corporate responsibility when in default?
Defeating WCC’s attempt to push the focus in opposite direction I need to refer and illustrate two examples:
[1] The trigger of IRC-2936 has been clearly an unacceptable breach of LGOIMA by failing to resolve a simple request. To obtain missing rates documents and following complaint procedure has taken 3 months.
[2] In return the related penalty charge has been disputed in May 2022 – and is not settled by date:
Imagine, the Rates Team sent the related invoice after “due date” and charged penalties while failing to provide services rates payers paying for.
The dispute is based on good reasons such as WCC wasn’t able answering the addressed notice and verifying dates e.g. for posted bills and payment.
It is a remarkable situation passed on to Chief Executive office. The reminder of 19 June 2023 posted directly to Chief Executive’s mail box hasn’t been answered yet.
I would like to see a reference that WCC’s penalty clause also applies explicitly to payment notes posted/received after the “due-date”.
Please confirm whether WCC agrees to include the outstanding issues [1] & [2] or not.
If WCC is asking, I would release the substance of facts when dealing with Ombudsman and Chief Executive offices in terms of timeframes, investigations, and writer’s impression how administration/management is sugar-coating professional misconduct.
I look forward to get these stats used by the Council Governing Body to set priorities for rate payers satisfaction, and
would appreciate WCC's commitment to clear up the mess.
Yours sincerely,
Klaus Schliebe
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