Changes have to be made to the way rates are calculated in the local government area following the amalgamation of Dubbo and Wellington councils. Under the current system, the Dubbo rate structure and the Wellington rate structures are calculated differently.

Council needs to harmonise rates for the residential, business and farmland categories.

The proposed rating structure for 2021/22 still needs to be ticked off by the Office of Local Government, but for properties classified as residential ordinary, the minimum a ratepayer will pay is $544.

For residential urban areas the minimum rates will be $715.70, while in residential Firgrove and residential Richmond the minimum will be $699.60. Areas classified as residential village and residential Geurie will have a minimum if $565 and in residential Wellington it will be $540.

Some residents will see their rates rise and others will fall, but overall, council can't collect more than two per cent more in rates than the current financial year.

"While the merging of the rates categories will not increase council's total rates revenue, it will have varying impacts on individual ratepayers," council's chief financial officer Michael Howlett said.

ALSO MAKING NEWS:

"Council's total rates revenue remains capped at an increase of two per cent, which is set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal."

As part of the community engagement strategy, council will establish a Rates Harmonisation Reference Group.

Cr Shields said the group would be made up of representatives from a range of areas from real estate to farming.

"There's no way we're going to be able to avoid having people who are upset, but the best way we can manage it is making sure that it's done by people within the community, who are without a skerrick of doubt, experts in their field," he said.

The mayor said the group would look at a range of influencing factors, like social demographics and the strength of the business community to help inform the new rates structure.

"I would suspect this group would be working out what areas of the whole new region should be paying what type of rates. Should farmland be paying more than commercial, should residential be paying less than commercial?"

As well as members of the community, the group will be comprised of chief executive officer Michael McMahon, deputy mayor Stephen Lawrence, other councillors and the mayor.

"The reality is, people are going to win, people are going to lose but it's very, very important we take the politics out of this [rates harmonisation]," Cr Shields said.

"It's very, very important we get a community panel that's going to make the decisions about what is best for the community."

Councillor John Ryan said there needed to be a "very strong cross section of people with various expertise" in the Rates Harmonisation Reference Group.

Those interested can submit an expression of interest via the council website before close of business on Friday, February 12.

Residential

Business

Farmland

Mining