How to fix a rates ‘anomaly’
CHLOE RANFORD house and I’d rather spend money on that.’’
The council’s long-term plan consultation document showed a property in ‘Picton vicinity’ with a land value of $170,000 was likely to get a 77 per cent rates increase, or an extra $500 a year.
The increase would bring their rates into line with ‘Blenheim vicinity’, and about $270 a year shy of a similar property in central Blenheim.
Council chief financial officer Martin Fletcher said the main driver behind the steep rates increase for ‘Picton vicinity’ was ‘‘equality and fairness’’.
‘‘The previous rates system was not working,’’ Fletcher said.
‘‘The general rule of thumb to go by is the further you live away from council services, the less you’re supposed to benefit.
‘‘Picton vicinity was an anomaly in the system. Residents from the area were paying less in rates than residents in Sounds admin rural.’’
Picton vicinity residents had full access to roads while ‘Sounds admin rural’ did not, Fletcher said.
Fletcher said the new rates system, which decided ‘Picton vicinity’ received most of the same services as Picton, would ‘‘restore balance’’.
Permanent Little Ngakuta Bay resident David Bendell, whose property was in line for a ‘‘huge rates increase’’, said the bay’s previously low rates were because they did not get the same council services.
‘‘It creates little fishhooks in your day-to-day life that you wouldn’t get if you lived in town,’’ Bendell said.
‘‘We have to minimise our water usage. This means having a front-facing washing machine, a water-conscious dishwasher and sometimes not flushing the loo.
‘‘We also have to clean filters often, especially after a heavy load of rain, and there’s around three filters in the house.
‘‘During the week, we sometimes load the car up with rubbish on the way to school, and it smells.
‘‘It’s the sacrifice we pay for living in paradise.’’
On the other side of Picton, close to Karaka Point, Khalid Suleiman said the rates increase would be hard on ‘Picton vicinity’ residents, including his parents. ‘‘They have to maintain everything on their own and this is very costly,’’ he said. ‘‘My parents will see a 50 per cent increase in their rates. They’re both retired. Where does that income come from?’’
The council did not understand the area, Suleiman said.
‘‘They just look at a couple of large buildings and slap on a price,’’ he said.
‘‘Most of the homes in the Picton vicinity are holiday homes, so the people who live there aren’t there often enough to use the facilities that they’re being charged for.
‘‘A majority of the places that are lived in all year-round are owned by retired people or people who’ve had their houses in their family for generations.’’
The council tried to rezone some regions around Picton, so homeowners paid the same rates as Picton, in 2014 but was unsuccessful.
The council proposed spreading its latest proposed rates increases over three years.
People can make submissions on the council’s long-term plan at www.marlborough.govt.nz until May 14. Submissions can be made in person from June 5 to 7. If approved, the new rates will be effective from July 1.