$17.9m deficit for Hutt City

Hutt City residents could soon see an average 7.9 per cent rates increase, as the council tries to reduce a $17.9 million budget deficit.

Councillors were briefed on a proposal to reduce the deficit yesterday afternoon, ahead of a meeting on Tuesday, where they will decide whether to include it as part of the draft annual budget for consultation.

Based on the proposal, at the lowest end, an Alicetown ratepayer would have a weekly increase of $2.42. The highest increase would be in Wainuiomata, at $6.46.

Mayor Campbell Barry told Stuff the way council had been run in the past meant the new council had ‘‘a bill to pay’’.

‘‘There is nothing in this increase where we are proposing anything new and flash.

‘‘The big chunk of this is dealing with the issues of the past.’’

He said the council needed to get back to the basics. ‘‘This is a consultation process as well. We want to put everything on the table, be open and honest about our situation, so we can find the solutions hand in hand with our community.’’

Even with the increased rates, the council is looking at a budget deficit of $13.5m.

If they were to pay it in one go, the average rates increase for the city would be 16 per cent, something Barry described as unconscionable.

Council CEO Jo Miller agreed. ‘‘We’ve had deficits for a number of years, we can’t fix it all in one go, because if we fix it all in one go, we can’t stomach the rates rise.’’

Between 2000 and 2018, Hutt City Council had the second-lowest rate increases of anywhere in the country.

Miller said the council had failed to meet their bottom line as a result.

During the next 12 months council staff would be going through the budget line by line, so councillors and residents could see exactly where money was going, she said.

She was also committed to reducing the council’s operating expenditure by $1m. This included looking closely at jobs within council, although she was not predicting lay-offs at this stage.

‘‘For example, I know at the moment there are 10 vacancies coming up and I know I don’t need to recruit to six of them.

‘‘The stuff I’ll be prioritising, in terms of jobs, is the front line, is the basics, things around water and the waste.

‘‘If we are to ask our residents to pay more through their rates, we need to be able to demonstrate we can squeeze the most out of every dollar we collect.’’

At the briefing, councillor Deborah Hislop said the council was going to have to make decisions about what was essential and what was nice to have.

Wainuiomata ward councillor Keri Brown said seeing the increase for her ward made her ‘‘feel a bit sick’’. On average, Wainuiomata residents will have an increase of 18 per cent under the proposal, although this was largely because of increased property values.

If the proposal was approved, the changes would come into effect on July 1.