Overall rates penalty payments charged by Otago Regional Council have recently fallen by more than a third, partly because of a new direct debit internet banking facility, the council says.
Outstanding council rates balances at November 1 each year incur a 10% penalty fee.
The total penalties charged at November last year were $191,263 compared with $292,448 in 2013 - a drop of almost 35% over the two years.
For the 2015-2016 rating year, $16,637,732 in rates was due last October, with 85% of the rates collected on time.
Of the $2.5million outstanding, a further $533,000 was scheduled to to be paid by three-times-a-year direct debit payments, a recent council report said.
Council corporate services director Nick Donnelly said penalty drop resulted from from more direct debit payments.
Increased communication between the council and ratepayers also helped.
A recently tabled council report showed the number of direct debits rose 43%, from 8751 in October 2014 to 12,536 at the start of last month.
The number of ratepayers receiving their communication via email rose from 644 at June to 3474 in November last year.
Emailing rating information was a ‘‘win-win'' because it was fairer and cheaper than traditional mail, and reduced physical waste produced by the council, he said.
