Horowhenua community urged to have their say on rates increase
The Horowhenua District Council is calling for the community to have their say on its Long Term Plan, which could include a high rates increase.
After months of workshops, council meetings and exploring various options, councillors have endorsed a draft Long Term Plan budget that proposed an average rates increase of 17.4%.
Interest, depreciation, insurance and utilities alone account for 14% of the proposed increase, a council statement said, adding that even with this proposed increase, it still needed to reduce or discontinue some of its services.
Proposed changes to services include the removal of council’s fund for adverse events and emergencies, increasing fees higher than the average, closing community centres on Sundays, increasing trade waste levies and discontinuing urban berm mowing.
Without these changes, the average annual rates increase would be 23.6%, an increase the council could not endorse, it said.
in reference to the district’s lowerthan-average household income compared with the rest of New Zealand, and the rising cost of living, Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden said “Proposing a significant rates increase at any time, but particularly now, is not a decision made lightly. But it’s the choice we have to make, if our community expects to receive the level of services they’re used to.”
The council was facing significant cost increases, including impacts on the cost of managing, developing and replacing community assets, and was also working to minimise debt and fully rate operational costs and depreciation, it said.
The council said these cost increases and fiscal management changes meant it needed to increase fees, charges and rates significantly to continue providing the services its communities were used to.
Previously the council had borrowed money to make rates increases more manageable, but this had led to a considerable amount of debt, limiting its ability to renew and invest in capital assets, and this was unsustainable long term, it said.
With the change of fiscal approach, the council said it would have a balanced budget by 2027 so it could start reducing debt, and it would then look to cap future rates increases at 10% per annum.
The council was also consulting on how waste was managed and how to share the costs of who should pay for what.
Council chief executive Monique Davidson said they needed to have some hard conversations with their community.
“Councillors have shown courage as they’ve leant into the challenges head on, ensuring that council’s infrastructure and financial models are not only sustainable, but will also ensure we are well positioned to deliver the services our community expects, both now and into the future.”
Wanden encouraged people to have their say in the consultation process.
“Now, more than ever, we need your voice to support council as we navigate challenging times and make tough decisions.”
More information is online at letskorero.horowhenua.govt.nz/LTP202444at Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō in Levin, Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom in Foxton or Shannon Library to view a hard copy of the consultation document. Submissions close on April 15.