ratepayer:
(plural: ‘ratepayers‘)
{‘rate’, in this context = a kind of tax a land/house owner must pay for owning his/her land, buildings, etc. (property tax) to the local authority, and an amount of money each person pays for using public utilities in a local area}
a ratepayer
(mostly in the UK) a person who pays local taxes on property (household);
a person who uses a public utility, such as electricity, water, communication, etc. and pays money (tax) according to the amount of service used,
a couple of troubled ratepayers in Australia
Most ratepayers never like the local authorities using their funds for other purposes.
[For interesting articles on ratepayers, you may visit: http://www.hayriverhub.com/2010/12/ratepayers-association-failure-to-communicate/ & http://www.clearskyadvisors.com/499/why-ontario%E2%80%99s-clean-energy-benefit-makes-sense-%E2%80%93-sort-of/.]
