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A Grouville parishioner has won a battle to prove he has been overcharged when it comes to rates – prompting concerns that thousands of people in the parish have also been paying too much.
The parish is now conducting a review of the way it has determined rates in response to concerns that it may have over-assessed the number of quarters each property has.
If that is the case, it means that Grouville rate payers may have been paying a disproportionately high contribution to the island-wide rate, compared to rate payers in the other 11 parishes.
Parish Constable Mark Labey has asked Grouville’s Assessment Committee to look at the allocation of quarters after three recent appeals to the island’s Rate Appeal Board were upheld.
The island-wide rate helps ensure that all parishes help cover the cost of Jersey's welfare system, while parish rates cover parish-specific costs. The value of rates is set annually at Parish Assemblies, and the amount a ratepayer pays is a multiple of the number of 'quarters' (a unit of measurement) that parish assessors have allocated to a property.
While the number of quarters only has an indirect impact on the amount that households and businesses pay for parish services – in that, it is the pence per quarter that matters – it does directly determine how much is paid for the island-wide rate.
If some or all of the parish’s 2,300 properties have been over-assessed in comparison to similar properties in Grouville, or other parishes, it would mean that parishioners have been over-paying this separate rate, which is paid to central Government to fund social services.
One of those successful appellants was a parishioner, who wishes to not be named, who believes that quarters in Grouville could have been significantly over-assessed.
In his own case, the Rate Appeal Board found that his property had been 75% over assessed and instructed the parish to reduce the number of quarters.
In monetary terms, he was overcharged more than £600 in total.
Pictured: Concerns have been raised that properties in Grouville have been allocated too many quarters compared with similar properties in other parishes.
The board also concluded that the Assessment Committee had not provided examples of comparisons with other parishes. By law, a committee must 'acquaint itself with the rateable values of other land in Jersey' to ensure proportionality.
Explaining the background, he said: “I bought my home in 2019 and moved in a year later. I thought the number of quarters was too high so appealed in 2022.”
When appealing an assessment, the law states that you have to compare with other properties but while the rates book contains number of quarters, it does not specify the characteristics, such as number of bedrooms, or properties.
The parishioner therefore looked at properties around his beachside home, which sits close to the St Clement border.
He compared his quarters against properties to the east, which were all in Grouville, to the west, which were in St Clement, and those on the other side of the coast road.
In Grouville, he found the seaside homes were 35,000 to 40,000 quarters but in St Clement, they were 15,000 to 20,000 quarters.
The land-side St Clement homes were 13,000 to 18,000 quarters but in Grouville, they were 15,000 to 21,000 quarters.
He said: “The initial appeal is to the same people who set the rate in the first place, which is the parish rates assessors.
“They said that they totally agreed with the evidence and that they knew that the Grouville rates were out of kilter with the rest of the island.
“They accepted all my evidence but rejected my appeal.”
That year, the parishioner missed the window of opportunity to take his case to the next appeal stage but he appealed again this January, which went on to the Rate Appeal Board, which is an island-wide States-appointed body.
Pictured: Grouville Constable Mark Labey: "The only fact we have is that three properties in the parish have had their appeals upheld".
In August, after a hearing, his appeal was upheld, with the board concluding that Grouville had not followed the requirements of the Rates Law in this case.
However, the parishioner believes his is not an isolated example.
“I fully support the parish system and I am only doing this because I see a wrong that I want to help put right,” he said. “Unfortunately, I believe that ratepayers have been financially disadvantaged year on year.
“Of course, the parish has to meet its financial obligations, and the Constable will propose a rate accordingly, but Grouville is paying more than it should when it comes to the islandwide rate. Also, charging for more quarters disguises how much it costs to run the parish.
“Most parishes also have a published ‘ready-reckoner’ guide to help assessors determine the number of quarters but Grouville is one of only two parishes which doesn’t have one.”
The case was detailed in a lengthy blog shared on the parishioner-run Grouville Community, Environment and Change website, which claimed that the problem had been known for "at least five years" but not addressed.
It also suggested that it was discussed during a Parish Assembly in 2022, but that parishioners were "restricted to speaking for only 60 seconds", which the blog said was "viewed by many as undemocratic".
In response, the parish said that it recognised that there may be a problem with the number of quarters and it was taking action.
Constable Mark Labey said: “We are not putting our heads in the sand. We are carrying out a comprehensive review within the confines of the existing law. I recognise that the number of quarters has a direct bearing on the Islandwide rate.
“I am certainly not saying at this stage that the 78 million quarters in the parish is incorrect.
“The only fact we have is that three properties in the parish have had their appeals upheld by the Rate Appeal Board. Although that is three properties too many, two of the three were significantly less than the over-assessment that has been claimed.
“We are getting advice on how best to proceed with the reassessment – we are certainly not shying away from this.
“We are asking our rates Assessment Committee to undertake a significant process and they have not shied away from it either. They are very conscientious, proud Grouvillais who are open to change.
“I have also asked them to put a banding guide in place, which most other parishes have, which is primarily relevant for new properties and extensions.
“A three-bedroom house in, say, Pomona Road is going have a different number of quarters to a beachside property on the Grouville coast road but it does help to bring properties into line with other parishes.”
Along with his 11 other Constables, Mr Labey is a member of a rates Supervisory Committee which must, by law, ‘encourage and promote uniformity in rateable values throughout Jersey’.
He added that a review of parish quarters could go either way, but he would abide by whatever the reassessment concluded.
He said: “Of course, there was always a possibility that a review might find that there are too few quarters, and some properties might be under-assessed. If that was the case, I will have to implement the changes.”
Grouville is the only parish yet to set its rates for this year, although the island-wide domestic rate has been fixed at 0.89p per quarter.
Mr Labey said that the Rates Assembly would be held towards the end of November.
A Grouville resident’s rates assessment has been found to be over-assessed by 75%. Do you live in Grouville? Are you confident your rates have been assessed correctly? https://t.co/RFlCTDcuMV
— Jennifer Bridge MBE (@JennBridge) October 27, 2023
He said he had promised to get a working group up and running to assess parish finances before finalising the accounts, which had taken longer to set up that first thought.
“That is my fault and I take it on the chin,” he said.
“There is a lot of work to do in the parish as we are making progress. As a new broom, I have a lot of sweeping to be getting on with.”
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