Erewash Borough Council says it expects a sharp rise in residents trying to get in touch over the next week as more than 60,000 Council Tax and business rates letters drop through letterboxes from 15 March.
High volumes of phone calls will usually result in delays in speaking to staff and the council has advised residents to use its website and register for a My Erewash account, which answers many of the questions that people want to ask.
Councillor Wayne Major, Erewash Borough Council’s Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Resources, said: “This is going to be an extremely busy time for our team so I would urge anyone that doesn’t yet have a My Erewash account to set themselves up with one. My Erewash aims to make it as easy as possible for people to find information, make use of our services and find answers to their questions. If you do use the telephone, there will almost certainly be delays and we do apologise for any inconvenience.”
In a bid to also cut down on the number of enquiries, the council also wants to make it clear that it cannot deal with any issues relating to the Council Tax charges for Derbyshire County Council and Adult Social Care, Derbyshire Police, Derbyshire Fire Authority and Parish Councils.
Erewash is the collecting authority for the area, but only 11% of the total council tax bill that residents pay goes to the Borough Council. The rest is for services provided by the other authorities and Erewash has no control over the charges set by these organisations.
My Erewash customers can view their accounts, submit forms, make requests, make payments, ask questions, provide information, claim Council Tax Support or other discounts and see copies of bills and other notices. A call back request can also be arranged as soon as possible if it is made through My Erewash.
Visit www.erewash.gov.uk where residents can set up a My Erewash account and join more than 37,000 others who are already making use of their accounts.