AN administrative bungle at the Shire of York saw 802 final notices issued with a due date in the past and 28 notices incorrectly issued after the rates had been paid in full by the due date.

The average of the 28 incorrectly issued notices was $1649.

The notices had an incorrect due date of October 24, which was actually the date of issue, and instead should have read November 7.

The error caused the rates phone line to jam up as concerned residents tried to contact the shire’s rates team.

“There was a delay in updating a receipting batch until after the final notices were run. This led to incorrect notices being issued where the full balance or the first instalment was paid by the due date,” a shire spokesperson said in a response to questions from Echo News.

“Final Notices are issued in-house, prior to sourcing external debt collection assistance. The finance team was responsible for the error,” the spokesperson said.

When asked what the shire was doing to rectify the problem the spokesperson said the process of updating rate receipt batches was being modified to ensure the batches are updated daily.

Temporary chief executive officer Alina Behan said the issue with the recent rates notices was identified quickly, and both the community and council were notified immediately.

“We sincerely apologise for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused. Receipting processes have already been adjusted to ensure this does not happen again,” she said.

“Shire staff are continuing to work closely with affected community members to resolve the matter. If you have not yet been contacted or have any concerns about your notice, please reach out to shire administration as soon as possible.”