Rates set to increase after plan tweaked

Rates in Nelson are expected to rise following adjustments made by the Nelson City Council in its Annual Plan.

The council adopted in principle its consultation document for the 2019/2020 Annual Plan at a meeting on Thursday.

Several proposed amendments from the 2018/2028 Long Term Plan have been made, including a 0.3 per cent increase in rates.

If approved, rates will increase from 3.9 per cent to 4.2 per cent.

In the council’s consultation document, one of the main reasons given for the change was the movement in significant operating costs, including higher staff costs and slower than predicted growth in rating units.

Compared to forecasts in the Long Term Plan, both operating expenditure and revenue have increased.

Total operating expenditure is set to go from $111.9 million to $113.6m, while revenue has jumped from $128m to $130.3m. While rates are set to go up, the council’s debt level will be dropping significantly, from a projected $121.5m to $96.7m.

Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese said she did not want to take the approach of dropping rates simply because it was an election year.

‘‘That doesn’t help our city. We’ve got to stick to a longer plan. We would have liked to go under 3.9 (per cent), but there were a few extra things we thought were really important that have gone in.’’

Councillor Tim Skinner said it was disappointing that the original rate level could not be maintained.

‘‘These incremental increases in rates are not sustainable. For some, they are going to go up a lot with price changes in houses.

‘‘I’d like to see us cut our cloth and make some more difficult decisions rather than take the easier route.’’

A 0.5 per cent reduction in commercial rates is again being proposed, following on from a decision made in the previous Annual Plan in 2018/2019.

Skinner said he was disappointed that the commercial differential would contribute to the increase in residential rates.

Submissions on the consultation plan will be open to the public on March 29, with submissions to be received by council by 5pm on May 2.

TIM O’CONNELL/STUFF Amber Kale facilitated a project with 12 former refugee women and girls from Myanmar to explore how they build new emotional attachments to places of settlement.