Community & Business
29 June, 2023
Fines to be written off
MORE than $52,000 in fines incurred from 2005 to 2015 will be written off by Tablelands Regional Council.
Council issues infringement notices to those who breach its local laws, and if the off ender enters into an arrangement to pay the fine in instalments, it is registered with the State Penalty Enforcement Registry (SPER) which then collects the money for council.
A report to council advised that following an investigation of infringements that remain outstanding, and after seeking all avenues for recovery, there were 515 infringements considered to be no longer recoverable.
Some of the infringements totalling $29,255 stem back to local authorities that existed before the amalgamation of local councils in 2008 to form the Tablelands Regional Council (TRC).
Fines registered with SPER that were carried across from the former Mareeba Shire total $16,616, $761 for the Eacham Shire, $559 from Atherton Shire, $253 from Herberton Shire, and $11,065 from the TRC.
Key issues recovering the money include lapsed time, discrepancies unable to be justified due to de-amalgamation in 2014, and changes in council systems.
Infringements not registered with SPER and that were incurred from 2005 to 2019 total $58,400, with $39,191 paid and an outstanding amount of $19,228.
Other infringements which were set for court hearings and that were incurred from 2019-2021 total $3760 and these will also be written off .
