Taking a closer look at rates
Palmerston North residents are being asked to have their say on the city council’s proposed rate rise of 8.3 per cent for the next financial year.
The annual budget outlines what the council plans to spend on projects and day-to-day services. This year’s draft proposes an average increase of 8.3 per cent in the total rates required to fund operations. Last year’s 10-Year Plan forecast this would need to be 8.1 per cent.
The increase is needed to maintain the standard of the city’s services and facilities, and renewal of core infrastructure in the face of rising costs. However, significant disruptions to supply chains and the availability of contractors means some projects planned for next year will be deferred.
Acting chief financial officer Cameron McKay says weighing up the factors on setting the annual budget, and therefore rates, has been distinctly challenging. This has been compounded by recent property revaluations that will readjust how rates are allocated.
“Like everyone else council is seeing price hikes for many of the things we do. While work has been done to keep our costs balanced the recent property revaluations will affect some residential ratepayers more than others.”
McKay says although the new valuations don’t change the total rates amount collected by the council, they do change how they are apportioned. This means some households’ rates will increase noticeably if their property’s value has risen more than the average, while some others may see a reduction in rates.
The proposed rates for all properties can be searched using the council’s website.
“We know these rises are another challenge when our residents’ other bills are going up as well, so we’ve come up with some ways we may be able to mitigate them. Details of how can be found in the annual budget consultation page on our website.
“We’ll also be mailing a flyer to all households with more information on the budget and ways to provide feedback. I encourage the community to let us know if we’ve got the balance right.”
Feedback on the proposed budget closes on April 21. Hearings will be held virtually from May 10-13 with the final budget adopted on June 2.
The council will hold online sessions to provide more information and answer questions. The details for these are at pncc. govt/annualbudget. Hard copies of the consultation document are at public libraries.