He has paid two rates bills, and a third is due on February 20. <\/p>\n
\u201cI still haven\u2019t got my rebate. <\/p>\n
\u201dIt\u2019s $700 I have to find which I don\u2019t expect to have to find – I\u2019m 78 and on a pension. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the people they\u2019re ripping off.\u201d <\/p>\n
Griffin said he contacted the council several times and was told 3000 people were in the same boat. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been to council and they said we haven\u2019t got the staff to do it. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey told me over 3000 people are waiting to be paid.\u201d <\/p>\n
As at January 31, FNDC had received about 1750 rates rebate applications for the current financial year, with applications at various stages of assessment. <\/p>\n
FNDC corporate services group manager Charlie Billington said: \u201cCouncil has recognised the need to improve turnaround times for processing rates rebate applications and approved system and process improvements in late 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n
Billington said the changes were expected to improve processing times from the first quarter of 2026 and not incur additional costs. <\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil\u2019s immediate focus is progressing current applications so eligible rebates can be applied as soon as assessments are completed.\u201d <\/p>\n
Billington said all rates rebate applicants had received acknowledgement letters confirming their applications have been received. <\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil expects all rates rebate applications will be assessed before the end of the current rating year, with eligible rebates applied where statutory criteria are met. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs the improvements take effect, council is targeting processing timeframes per application of four weeks or less, subject to application completeness and eligibility checks.\u201d <\/p>\n
The council did not answer questions about whether staff shortages had contributed to the delays.<\/p>\n