MOST households should have been sent their rates bill from their parish by now or will receive one in the next few weeks.
Renters and landlords split the bill while owner-occupiers cover everything. Businesses pay a different rate, while the parishes also collect the islandwide rate, which is sent on to the Treasury.
You must pay rates if you are an owner or occupier of ‘land’, which includes any house, building, structure or piece of land.
In essence, the parish rate funds the parochial administration, including the parish hall (or public hall, if you are a St Martinais), its staff, its honorary police, the parish church, parish roads and refuse collection.
Community centres, village greens and grants to parish organisations, such as the Battle of Flowers Association, football club and local Scout group are often in the mix.
How much you need to pay in rates depends on the rateable value of land owned or rented. This is assessed by the rate assessors elected by each parish.
Parish rates are set by a Parish Assembly, which have been, mostly, held in the last month or so.
The amount of rates that each parish needs to collect depends on the budget for the year, agreed at the same assembly.
Rates are payable ‘on demand’, which means households will receive a letter telling them when they have to be paid. It must be within three months to avoid a ten per cent surcharge.
Each building or land is assessed on its rentable value and given a number of ‘quarters’ which are harmonised across the parishes, meaning two identical properties in, say, St Ouen and Grouville should have the same number of quarters.
Here we run through the 12 parishes. The Retail Price Index for the year to March was 2.3%, rising to 2.6% in June.
St Brelade – up from 1.40p to 1.44 p per quarter (2.8% increase)
The rise was down to an RPI increase and putting more money into the reserve property fund to upgrade the Elephant Park, specifically the toilets in the first phase, with play equipment in the as-yet-unfunded second phase and dealing with water ingress at the Gervaise Le Gros Centre at St Aubin. The rise was the one recommended by parish’s finance committee and the Constable.
St Lawrence – up from 1.12p to 1.16p per quarter (3.6% increase)
The rise was attributed to an RPI increase and covering general increasing costs. Constable Deidre Mezbourian said that her parish had the lowest rate in the Island and encouraged all Islanders eligible to vote to attend their rates assembly. “I don’t set the rate – it is very much the decision of parishioners,” she said. “Anyone can propose a rate and this year, we did have a proposal to maintain the rate at 1.12p; however, the assembly voted for the increase, as proposed by the Procureurs. It really is grassroots democracy in action.”
Grouville – rates meeting due end of August
St Clement – meeting scheduled for Tuesday 26 August
St Martin – up from 1.51p to 1.63p per quarter (8% increase)
The 8% increase was primarily down to financing the introduction of kerbside recycling, which begins in November, so the rate covers six months of funding. The parish must also maintain its built estate, including the playground on the Village Green, so is not ruling out further rate rises next year. This year’s approved rate was the one proposed by the parish’s finance committee.
St Mary – up from 1.90p to 1.95p per quarter (2.6% increase)
Constable David Johnson said that, with few commercial businesses in the parish, St Mary was more reliant on the ratepayers of its 760 private households than other parishes. It meant, he said, that the parish had to carefully control its spending. He added that 18 affordable homes were being built in the parish, but these were being funded by the Les Vaux Housing Trust.
St Peter – up from 1.35p to 1.38p per quarter (2.22% increase)
Constable Richard Vibert said that it was a cost-of-living rise and there was no significant extra spending envisaged. However, Mr Vibert said that the parish was increasingly concerned about the upkeep of its older buildings, including the 50-year-old Maison Le Marquand sheltered homes. He added that the parochial team would have to find new ways of financing the maintenance of the estate.
Trinity – up from 1.2p to 1.3p per quarter (8% increase)
Constable Philip Le Sueur said that the rise was mainly down to salaries, refuse collection and putting more money into the roads’ account. He added that the parish’s £90,000 legal fees to defend a wrongly raised Clameur de Haro came out of reserves, which currently stood at £4m, and not rates’ funds.
He added that the parish had recently bought a small triangle of land to complete its Maisons Cabot sheltered housing project, and it had received planning permission to widen the entrance of the parish hall to improve accessibility. This would also increase office space and, by moving things around, would create a new dedicated space for the Honorary Police.
St Ouen – up from 1.33p to 1.34p per quarter (0.75% increase)
The small increase was to cover cost-of-living rises but the parish kept the rate at a minimum to help those parishioners struggling with rising costs elsewhere. Constable Richard Honeycombe said that there had been a deficit last year, caused by additional staff and wages, and a large bill to update the Village Green play area after an inspection.
However, the Constable added that the parish had made lots of efforts to cut costs, including better deploying the five full-time parish workers, who collect rubbish and recycling as well as fill in potholes and maintain parish land.
He added that the parish had 39 units of sheltered accommodation and had £5.6m in reserves to meet future need. St Ouen is one of three parishes which run their own recycling scheme and Mr Honeycombe said it had been a great success, with 108 tonnes collected last year.
St Helier – up from 1.32p to 1.35p per quarter (2.3% increase)
The rise was in line with the March RPI. When combined with the islandwide rate, parishioners will experience an overall increase in their rates of 2.2% for domestic properties and 1.5% for non-domestic properties.
Constable Simon Crowcroft said that he hoped that ratepayers would consider the increase “fair and reasonable”. He added that in the last financial year, the parish had supported the Government’s safer schools programme, with road improvements next to First Tower and d’Auvergne primary schools.
He added that St Helier had also completed its first ‘Neighbourhood Improvement Area’ in Pomona Road and is planning a similar refurbishment programme for Poonah Road in this financial year, with Clearview Street and Belmont Road being lined up for 2026/27.
The parish had also completed two new children’s play areas in Parade Gardens which have proved h popular, and the ratepayers agreed to set aside funds to improve children’s facilities for St Andrew’s Park over the next year or so.
St John – up from 1.19p to 1.23p per quarter (3.3% increase)
Constable Andy Jehan said that the parish always took the view that a little and often was better than large increases, and the proposed rate had been accepted by the 36 parishioners at the assembly.
He added that funds would go towards repairing the parish church’s roof, parts of the parish hall, and developing approved plans for the memorial garden and extra parking, which will be built on a third of the large field next to the parish hall and school.
St Saviour – up from 1.55p to 1.59p per quarter (2.6% increase)
Constable Kevin Lewis said that the rise was a modest one which, when combined with the islandwide rate, represented an increase of 2.4%.
He said: “We are very aware that money is tight, so we were keen to keep the rate as low as possible.” The Constable added that a parish assembly would soon be asked to approve the building of a 40-space car park and children’s play area behind the parish hall, which was already funded and would come from a ring-fenced pot separate from rates.
Later phases include building a community centre, nature trail and green open spaces.
Islandwide rate
The islandwide rate is collected by parishes but is then paid to the Treasury and helps fund the Government’s welfare system. It harks back to when welfare was administered and allocated by the parishes and was part of the deal when welfare was centralised.
Domestic rate – from 0.92p to 0.94p per quarter (2.17% increase)
Non-domestic rate – from 1.37p to 1.38p per quarter (0.73% increase)
This is added to the rates bill.
