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A less common known cost is rates. Rates is a form of local property tax paid directly to the local council. It is only paid by the occupiers of commercial or industrial properties.

The amount to be paid is calculated after an independent valuation by the Valuations Office which is multiplied by an amount set each year by the local council. For TOG our local council is Dublin City Council.

Luckily for us Schedule 4 of the Valuation Act, 2001 provides a list of property types and uses that are exempted from paying rates. With this information we framed our objectives, came up with a structure and drafted our initial constitution with an eye on being made rates exempt.

For our initial space on Arran Quay the rates amount was about €1000 per year, which was cheaper to pay then the amount for valuation fees and auditing expenses. But for our current space on Chancery Lane the amount is about €5000 per year, so becoming rates exempt was a requirement for us.

At the time of our move we had an EGM to adopt some constitution changes which we felt were required to get the exemption. These changes include a restatement of our primary and secondary objectives to be compatible with the charitable purposes defined in the Charities Act, 2009 and the requirement to get our accounts audited.

Our landlord requested a revaluation of the property after we moved in, so we had a site visit from an Valuation Office Officer. The initial valuation in August was unsuccessful for us, but was only based on the physical attributes of the property. The process then gave us the opportunity to disagree and provide more information.

In our response in September we had our first real opportunity to introduce what TOG is, our operating structure, provide information about our events and activities, our financial reports and that we believed we are a charitable organisation. We were asked to provide extra information by email, particularly on how we provide a public benefit.

In November we received another unsuccessful response. Our option at this point was start paying rates or file an Appeal to the Commissioner of Valuation for €125. We put our appeal in just before Christmas and after the acknowledgement we could expect a response within six months.

Role on six months and a bit longer and we heard nothing. Then one afternoon a phone call from the Valuation Office. During the conversation I’m told that we were sent the wrong notification in November and as a charitable organisation we were rates exempt. Today Friday we received written confirmation and a refund for our Appeal fee.

This is very good news for us. It’s also great news for the wider group of hackerspaces in Ireland 091 Labs, Milk Labs and Nexus as they are using a similar structure to TOG.

Not much changes for us but it’s definitely nice to have some official recognition of our status.

Members from hackerspaces all over Ireland will be forming a temporary
hackerspace at Electric Picnic this year.

We will be in Mindfield area on Saturday and Sunday from 6pm to 8pm. Our home for the weekend will be the incredible inflatable Ignition Stage. We will be running  drop in workshops. Details of the workshops below. Come on by to learn, share, create.

Soldering Workshop

Learn how to solder. Make a pocket LED touch (Might come in handy
finding your tent) or a Flashing LED badge.

Origami Workshop

Origami experts will be on hand to teach you the art of paper folding.
Sit down and let your troubles fold away. Flapping Birds and Paper
flowers are waiting for you to fold them.

Craft Workshop

Do you fancy yourself a bit crafty ? A bunch a friendly crafters will
be ready to help you create your own unique LED bracelet or necklace.

To find us, check out this site map for the Mindfield area.

Also this weekend (Saturday 21st) members of Ubuntu-ie will be meeting in TOG to work on there team re-approval during the hackathon. More details can be found here -> http://t9.ie/y

Unfortunately not everyone in TOG thinks Ubuntu rocks. Check out the video after the break.

TOG has established itself as a charitable organisation and is non-commercial and not-for-profit. Our intention is that our membership fee will be set so that it covers our operating costs. Our operating costs include rent, insurance, fees, electricity, gas, internet, etc.

Since moving to our new space in June 2010 our operating costs and membership income have now stabilised. So we are now at a point where we can start reducing the standard rate which has be set at €50 since we first began collecting money early in 2009. As more members come in, we hope to continue this process.