Julaihi (third right) presenting a book on Miri to Mohd Nasir, witnessed by other members of the MHCC delegation.
MIRI: The Miri City Council (MCC) has succeeded in collecting 92 per cent or RM40 million of its 2017 assessment rates while also recording an increase in the collection of outstanding assessment rates.
Deputy mayor Julaihi Mohamad said its collection of outstanding assessment rates last year was double compared to the previous year.
“In terms of outstanding assessment rates, last year, we collected about 40 per cent of the outstanding amount or RM5.5 million. This was the highest percentage so far as the normal collection of outstanding assessment rates in previous years were between 20 to 30 per cent,” he said
Julaihi said after Miri was elevated into a city, there has been tremendous development in residential, commercial and industrial properties and collecting assessment rates for these properties has always been a challenge.
“The growth (in properties) is something very good for Miri and I must say Mirians are also very good when it comes to paying assessment rates. In fact we have recorded 98 per cent collection of assessment rates in past years.”
He said this when welcoming a delegation of 34 staff and officers from Melaka Historic City Council (MHCC) Department of Valuation and Properties at Miri City Council yesterday.
Leading the delegation was MHCC Valuation officer Mohd Nasir Bakri. Also present was MCC secretary Morshidi Frederick.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Melaka Historic City Council for choosing Miri to carry out their study tour and I believe that this is a good opportunity for both Melaka and Miri to learn from one another,” said Julaihi.
He also urged the visitors to take advantage of their trip to explore the various places of interest in Miri and share the experience with family members and friends when they return to Melaka.
Meanwhile, Mohd Nasir said the visit marks the starting of a good relationship between MHCC and MCC.
“I think this will be a very meaningful visit for MHCC as this is the first time we visited a Local Authority (PBT) that has recorded assessment rates collection of 98 per cent. I have served in three different PBTs the last 20 years, and the most collection of assessment rates I’ve encountered is 85 per cent average,” he said .
He added that most of the MHCC staff and officers in the team were visiting Miri for the first time and among them were staff from the Legal, IT, Planning and Finance departments.