989 Request for information relating to Unpaid rates, cost of recovery, council disputes
This LGOIMA request is about disputes, complaints, or non-compliance with council rules and statutory obligations, including rates, dog registration, or other council charges, and the effect these have had on council resources.
Please provide the following information for the period January 2022 – today:
1) The number of personal grievances or formal complaints relating to disputes with the public over council rules or statutory obligations, and any high-level reports or summaries about trends or impacts of these disputes on staff or council operations.
Question 1 refers to issues and problems faced by council's employees specifically. It would be complaints staff have raised about interactions with the public. Especially on matters triggered by people harassing or targeting the council or specific employees.
MDC do not hold a register of complaints or data regarding this.
2) The number of cases where people have disputed or delayed paying rates, fees, or charges, or refused to comply with council requirements (for example, dog registration), and any summaries or reports describing the nature or volume of these disputes.
Whilst many departments are routinely questioned regarding fees and charges and some delays in payment occur, the reasons for these are not recorded and there is no record of anyone in the district claiming sovereignty therefore, we do not hold the information.
3) Total costs, including legal fees, court or debt recovery costs, or extra staff time, related to handling the above disputes, and any reports or summaries assessing the impact on council resources or finances.
Questions 2-3 are about issues and problems triggered by sovereign citizens disputing the council's authority or refusing to pay rates, fines and fees citing pseudo-laws arguments.
We do not hold any information specifically regarding sovereign citizens.
4) The number of LGOIMA requests received that relate to disputes over council rules, charges, or enforcement, and any internal summaries or reports about high-volume requests or the impact of repeated requests on staff and operations.
Question 4, without using the words 'paper terrorism', hints at the practice of flooding councils with LGOIMA requests. This is done by organised groups or individuals who are trying to clog the council or are disputing the council's authority. So, I would be interested in those specific instances.
LGOIMA requests do not require requestors to state why they require the information requested. Whilst we do have recurrent requests from some individuals and groups we do not have any examples of the type of requests you are referring to in this question.