Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) is urging property owners to register for electronic billing as physical assessment statements will not be issued from January next year.

SMC chairman Clarence Ting said property owners who wanted printed assessment bills would have to pay for it.

“From next year onwards, we will stop sending physical statements to ratepayers.

“Those who want a printed version will have to pay for it,” he said at the local council’s full board meeting.

The registration for ebilling could be done at the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) but ratepayers must have an email to receive their bills, he said.

“We implemented the ebilling system this year and it is crucial because of the increase in the number of ratepayers.

“Previously we had 30,000 ratepayers and it took SMC two weeks to issue the bills.

“Now we have 53,000 ratepayers and we will have to spend one month distributing the bills. So going online is the best way forward,” he explained.

Ting said ratepayers’ response to ebilling had been poor.

“To date, only 20% have registered for it,” he said.

He noted that the council would need at least 20,000 registrations a month to reach its 70% target by the year end.

“Property owners need to take this seriously as they will not receive physical bills next year,” he added. — By ANDY CHUA