Rates errors in council’s annual plan

The Gore District Council has postponed adopting its draft annual plan after errors were found in the way rates increases were calculated.

The plan was pulled from the agenda at an extraordinary council meeting on Tuesday night, and the council will hold another meeting next week to discuss and adopt the plan after the errors are fixed.

Chief executive Steve Parry said the council did not detect the mistakes in the plan because of the February floods, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the absence of a chief financial officer for the past four months.

The plan contained details of a district-wide average 2.84 per cent rates rise, lower than the 4.53 per cent fore- Stephen Parry cast in the Long-term

Plan, after the council trimmed some budgets in the wake of the pandemic.

But a table in the plan containing rating examples showed properties with capital values ranging from $100,000 to $9 million had projected rates rises between 4.42 per cent and 10.82 per cent.

Parry said the capital values, particularly in the rural area, were not up to date as some properties had been removed from the revaluation database to be updated.

This happened in instances where a property had been subdivided, which created two rating units, he said.

‘‘Given the platform the council was using to strike the rate was incorrect, this caused the rate to be higher than necessary . . . When the council applied its financial calculations across sample properties, higher than expected rate increases became evident.’’

The problem was detected last Friday, but the council did not pinpoint the cause until Tuesday, Parry said. ‘‘It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.’’

Federated Farmers had sent the council a letter this week highlighting the problem of higher rural rates, which Parry said the council was already aware of.

‘‘I want to thank Federated Farmers for its input and suggestion to delay adoption of the annual plan, which was in line with the council’s thinking.’’

This is not the first time the council has delayed the adoption of a strategic plan. In 2006 the 10-year Plan was delayed after the death of a councillor’s wife.

Another extraordinary meeting will be held next week, where the revised plan will be adopted.