Abd Hamid says Puchong saw a valuation increase of 79% on average.
SEPANG Municipal Council (MPSepang) has received about 7,000 objections from the public following its assessment tax revision notices issued to property owners earlier this month.
The objection period ended yesterday.MPSepang president Datuk Abd Hamid Hussain said he expected the number of objections to be higher.
“We plan to start the objection hearing process on Aug 14 and hope to conclude by the end of September.
“There is an increase in valuation in most areas, between 15% and 30%.”
The most significant increase was some areas in Puchong that fell under MPSepang, which saw an average increase of 79%.
This could be justified by the rapid development in Puchong over the last few decades, he said.
“Meanwhile, there are also areas such as Bagan Lalang that have a decrease in valuation, with an average of 23%,” he told reporters after a full board meeting.
Abd Hamid said the last valuation revision was done in 1996 and it was high time for the revaluation and tax assessment hike to ensure good service by the council.
“With the increased income, the municipal council will be able to maintain the trees better and improve the infrastructure and public amenities.
“The municipal council’s budget is not much.
“As such, tree trimming and felling works were only conducted when necessary.
“But there is a need to have a tree maintenance routine, as many of the trees, especially of the khaya species that were at risk of breaking and falling.”
This could only be done with a big budget, he added.
“Tree maintenance is expensive.
“The cost to trim trees ranges between RM3,000 and RM5,000, while the cost to fell a tree ranges between RM8,000 and RM10,000.
“We have identified 940 trees at risk in three red zones, namely Cyberjaya, Puchong and Sepang Putra.
“Since we started tree maintenance work in February, we have completed maintenance for the first 40% classified as high risk,” he said.
Abd Hamid said with more income, there would also be more allocation for drainage and road upkeep.
“Many roads are narrow and riddled with potholes.
“Floods are also a problem.
“We have allocations to rectify such problems but this may need to be scaled down due to our limited budget.
“With a bigger budget, we can offer better service.”
