Rural rates hike rejected following protest

Officials have rejected a proposal to increase rural rates in Manawatu¯ by more than 30 per cent after a district-wide protest.

The Manawatu¯ District Council will retain the existing rating system after councillors voted yesterday to overturn unpopular proposed changes in its draft Long-term Plan.

The council had proposed to increase rural rates, maintain residential rates at about the same level, and decrease rates for businesses in Feilding’s central business district.

But an overwhelming number of submissions disputing the proposal couldn’t be ignored, councillors said, as they deliberated for 75 minutes.

Mayor Helen Worboys and deputy mayor Michael Ford voted against returning to the status quo.

Worboys admitted the council made some errors, having not presented information as well as it could have and neglecting to include a ‘‘status quo’’ option in the consultation document.

Chief executive Richard Templer was forced to seek legal advice to determine whether the council could vote for an option that wasn’t consulted on.

Although unlikely, it was possible Feilding residential and CBD ratepayers could order a judicial review of the council’s process, Templer said, due to the decision not being part of the original plan.

‘‘I accept, politically, that this proposal is difficult.’’

Mayor Helen Worboys

Worboys said the council didn’t hear from urban ratepayers, who were the silent majority.

‘‘I accept, politically, that this proposal is difficult.

‘‘However, this is not just about rural. Our job is to take a district-wide approach to rating . . . acknowledging that regardless of what we decide on, we will never please everyone.’’

Any change that affected someone’s pocket was going to be

controversial, Ford said.

He had campaigned on the basis that urban rates were too high and believed the proposal would have put Feilding and Palmerston North on a level playing field.

It concerned him that rural ratepayers showed no sympathy for their urban counterparts, and it was disappointing that some farmers threatened to take business out of the district if the proposal was adopted.

Councillor Howard Voss said he had never experienced such ‘‘community resentment’’.

Cr Andrew Quarrie said the council’s process was flawed and the outcome wasn’t surprising.

‘‘As the process went forward, the questions from ratepayers became more thought out.

‘‘To say there was a major call for a rate reduction from ratepayers . . . There was no evidence to support it.’’

Only one ratepayer in the past five years had laid an official request to have urban rates reduced, Quarrie said.

Cr Shane Casey said councillors were ‘‘battered and bruised’’ after an arduous and, at times, hostile consultation period.

‘‘The armour is a little bit weaker.’’

Cr Stuart Campbell said the council lit a fuse and began to drive a wedge between town and country.

‘‘Let’s put it out before it detonates. The message is loud and clear. This is a lose-lose proposal.’’

The rural-urban relationship was vital in Manawatu¯ , he said, because rural people chose to spend money in Feilding.

Cr Barbara Cameron said urban ratepayers didn’t attend the consultation meetings in any great numbers and their submissions were ‘‘non-existent’’.