Paying rates a struggle for some
Draft rates notices outlining the average 2.43 per cent rise in rates that Central Hawke’s Bay ratepayers can expect to pay in 2017/18 should be arriving in letterboxes this week.
With the CHB District Council deciding recently to scrap the normal annual plan consultation process in favour of Project Thrive— a series of “conversations with the community” to be held at a number of public meetings next month— residents will have no opportunity to make formal submissions on the higher rates bills.
In announcing Project Thrive late last month, the council said it had forgone consultation on the 2017/18 annual plan as it did not differ significantly from what was contained in its 2015-25 long term plan (LTP)— though the latest 2.43 per cent rates increase is marginally greater than the 2.38 per cent rise foreshadowed in the LTP.
CHB mayor Alex Walker said Project Thrive – a series of 10 public meetings to be held in April – would give residents the chance to shape a “future vision” for the district and determine what projects were included in the council’s 2018-28 LTP, which would impact on future rates.
“I absolutely want our rates to be as affordable as possible for our community. But the key thing is transparency about what [ratepayers’] money is spent on. So my drive is about collecting information from the community through Project Thrive about what’s important to them, and then ensuring that we as a council are delivering on what the community expects, and what it is willing to pay for,'' she said.
CHB rates ‘far too high’
One not looking forward to recieving her new rates notice is 87-year-old Waipukurau pensioner, Marjorie Furness.
“I am not happy with what I pay in rates – I think they’re far too high. My daughter has a $600,000 home in Poraiti [in Napier] with a fair bit of land attached to it and she pays less rates than I do. She only pays about $1700 a year,” said Mrs Furness, who paid $2328 in rates in 2016/17 for her semi-detached unit in Willow Grove, which sits on 540sqm of land and has a capital value of $160,000.
She believed most people in her age group “struggled” to pay their rates.
“If they are on a pension, they will struggle to pay them. It’s a lot of money.”
She was grateful she received the maximum rates rebate of $610 from the Department of Internal Affairs “but that comes from central government, not from the local council,” she said.
She had “come unstuck” a few times when her quarterly rates bill had come in, which amounted to easily more than half her gross fortnightly pension amount.
While she herself never went without, at times she had been forced to rack up expenses on her credit card to be able to pay her rates, and then use the six-week interest free period to get her finances back in shape
“I am very good with money, but a lot of people aren’t so they have to go without,” she said.
Given the amount of rates she paid, she wanted more services from council.
“The one thing that really does annoy me is refuse collection. We pay for refuse collection but then we have to buy the rubbish bags, which cost $2 a bag. Afew years ago we used brown paper bags which the council supplied, so why don’t they still supply them?” she asked.
Elderly hit hard
CHB Age Concern community field officer Jayne Owen said any rates rise hit pensioners and retirees hard.
“They really rely on their rates rebate because they [CHB rates] are so expensive,” she said.
Because most were on low, fixed incomes, any rise in rates would result in many elderly having to ‘rebudget’, she said.
“Because they are on a fixed income and they have no way of getting any other income, it just reduces the amount they have to spend elsewhere. Whether it’s the food or electricity, something has to give.”
She feared some people were not applying for a rates rebate because they thought the process would be too complicated, but her organisation and others could help.
“But it’s not as complicated as it used to be,” she said.
Assistance available
Along with Work and Income and staff at the district’s libraries, CHB Budget Services can also help with rate rebate applications and other arrangements to help people avoid financial hardship.
Manager Carmel Thompson urged anyone having difficulty paying their rates to act straight away and seek assistance.
“Because when people start incurring penalties, that actually makes it worse.”
She said her service enjoyed a good relationship with council’s rates department and could sometimes organise repayment plans for people to avoid the penalties.
“In council’s defence, I’d have to say they are very good at negotiating with us to help clients to meet their [rates] obligations,” she said.
She acknowledged CHB’s small
population made it difficult for the council to achieve economies of scale, resulting in relatively high rates bills.
“I’ve got parents in Christchurch and the rates bill for their house is less than most of the ones I see through here, and their capital valuation would be a lot higher than those in CHB,” she said.
Unfair comparison
Mayor Alex Walker said it was unfair to compare rates in CHB, which has 13,600 residents, to larger centres with more people and a bigger ratings base.
“The basic economic premise [of rates] is that the cost of basic infrastructure has to be shared over the population, or ratings base, of that district.
“Because we have far fewer people to pay for the same— if not more— infrastructure, it’s an unfair comparison,” said Ms Walker who believed that the South Wairarapa District Council was a better example.
Similar to CHB, she said South Wairarapa, with a population of 10,100 people, also had to service a number of outlying townships and provide a range of amenities over a large geographical area.
Before applying charges based on a property’s capital value or land value, urban ratepayers in CHB paid $1852 in fixed rate charges in 2016/17, comprised mainly of a sewerage operations rate of $817.60, a water supply operations charge of $625.88, and District Uniform Annual Charge (UAC) of $323.66.
According to the South Wairarapa District Council website, before charges based on a property‘s capital value or land value, its urban ratepayers paid a total of $2073 in fixed charges, including a water supply rate of $604, a UAC of $543, a reserves and amenities charge of $325, a sewage disposal charge of $465, and $136 for refuse collection.
Residents can raise issues at council’s next scheduled Public Forum on May 4 at its Waipawa chambers.
Project Thrive meetings
Monday April 10: 6pm-8pm Waipukurau Primary School Hall, St Mary’s Road.
Tuesday April 11: 10am11.30am Taiwhenua Rooms, Kitchener St, Waipukurau; 2pm-3.30pm Tikokino Hall, Owen St; 6pm-8pm CHB Municipal Theatre, Kenilworth St, Waipawa.
Wednesday April 12: 10am11.30am Omakere Hall, Pourere Rd; 2pm-.30pm Onga Onga Hall, Bridge St; 6pm-8pm Otane Hall, Higginson St.
Thursday April 13: 10am11.30am Porangahau Hall, Abercromby St; 2pm-3.30pm Flemington Hall, Rotohiwi Rd; 6pm-8pm Takapau Hall, Charlotte St.