9 per cent rates rise proposed
Waikato district residents could soon face a 9 per cent rates rise.
Mayor Allan Sanson said he was ‘‘looking down the barrel’’ of growing costs for water infrastructure and a rates rise was a necessity.
As part of the draft Long Term Plan 2021-31, the council’s preferred option is a 9 per cent rate rise in year one, followed by a 3.5 per cent rise in years two and three of the plan.
The other option sets the rate rise at 7 per cent in year one, 6 per cent in year two, and 4 per cent in year three.
Sanson told the Waikato Times there was ‘‘no way’’ the council could fund the infrastructure upgrades legally required without a rate increase.
In a growing district wedged between Hamilton and Auckland, the council was facing more resource and building consents and the infrastructure needed to be at a certain quality to support the growth, he said.
A new, $70 million wastewater plant at Te Kauwhata was required, partly due to upcoming renewals, and partly due to a housing development with 1300 homes.
Sanson said $40m of that had been funded by central government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund but this covered only some of the cost. ‘‘Waikato District Council has nine water plants, Hamilton City Council has one.’’
In the coming years, upgrades would be required at the Huntly, Raglan and Ngāruawāhia plants, Sanson said.
He maintained the district’s wastewater and water treatment plants were operating within their consents. ‘‘It is not that they are operating badly now but the consents have changed.’’
Within the next 10 years, the council faced a billion-dollar capital spend on roading, bridge and water infrastructure. Certain big ticket items came ‘‘at a huge cost, it is just more money, money, money’’.
If the council approves the Long Term Plan, residents will face the 9 per cent rise from July to June next year.
The council was also considering selling off pensioner housing in Tūākau, Ngāruawāhia and Huntly to a social housing provider who would keep them as pensioner units, Sanson said.
And the district’s inorganic rubbish collection may also be headed for the tip if the proposed Long Term Plan is accepted.
At the moment, the council picks up dumped tables, washing machines, stoves and bikes and the like once a year. Waikato District Council is one of the last councils in the country to do so.
Sanson said the cost of the pickup had more than doubled – from $200,000 to nearly half a million dollars in a few years. ‘‘People need to learn to get their own rubbish to the transfer station.’’
The Long Term Plan 2021-31 is currently up for consultation: residents can give feedback through an online form, or ring the council for a printed submission form.
People can attend information sessions at community halls around the district. Feedback is due by May 7.