Stewart Island ratepayer hits back on $1700 bill from council
A Stewart Island/Rakiura ratepayer who contested a 500% increase to his rates says the council has misunderstood the crux of his fiery letter.
Earlier this month, the unnamed person made headlines after appearing in a Southland District Council report expressing frustration at their annual rates jumping from $349 to $1744.
Councillors had little sympathy for the ratepayer, saying the increase would have been obvious had the person obtained a LIM report prior to the June 2023 purchase.
The reason for the increase was the section had previously come under the umbrella of another property, meaning it had only been charged partial rates.
But the ratepayer – who Local Democracy Reporting agreed not to name – has hit back, saying his main point was missed.
The ratepayer told LDR he wanted to know how rates of $1700 could be justified on a $50,000 section with no services.
“My question was, how do you justify it? They’ve tried to hide behind a smoke screen. I thought I’d see if there was one councillor who had business acumen.”
The person said he had read the property file prior to purchase and knew what he was getting into.
“The premise of my question was how do you justify 3.5% rates on a $50,000 section with no services and a gravel road outside?”
In their email to the council dated November 8, the person said there was no power connected to the site and no caravan present. He had since parked a caravan at the site and connected to power at a cost of $10,000.
Jon Spraggon – an appointee to the Stewart Island/Rakiura community board – said he didn’t believe the land was over-rated.
“The section in the past hasn’t been paying for any of the community rates or that type of thing.
“What he’s actually ended up paying is what anyone with a section of that undeveloped land is paying.” Spraggon did concede people paid higher rates to live on the island, however.
“But with a rate base as low as what we have on the island, to be able to do anything, perhaps our basic community rates have to be reasonably high.”
He had not met the landowner except to sell them a golf club subscription last year. Council financial and assurance group manager Anne Robson said the organisation was charging in line with its rating policy, which was applied consistently across the district.
Even if there wasn’t a dwelling on the property, there still needed to be a “quantity of services” available for if and when it was built on, Robson said. Despite his frustration with the rates, the landowner spoke highly of Stewart Island/Rakiura.
“Stewart Island is a fantastic place, it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to,” he said.