Rates hike proposal 21.4%
The Gore District Council is proposing a rates increase of 21.4%, saying the funding of local government in New Zealand is in dire need of being overhauled.
A report from council interim chief executive Stephen Parry, which is included in the agenda for tomorrow’s council meeting, says the starting point when budgets for all council activities were initially collated stood at an ‘’eye-watering 40%’’.
The council’s general manager corporate support Lornae Straith whittled the figure down to 31.7% prior to the council holding workshops to make more changes and cuts, which had stripped a further $2.2 million (approximately) from the rates requirement. Councillors made further cuts at annual plan workshops.
Cuts include: not fully funding the total increase in depreciation ($1.2m), deferring new employment positions, IT upgrades, property renewals and maintenance, delaying the rollout of the kerbside recycling service until April 1 2025, trimming parks and reserves expenditure in relation to materials and contractors, deferring some Gore Multisports Complex capital projects, discontinuing the community awards.
The reductions outlined above and contained within the annual plan summary and consultation document have led to a proposed rate increase of 21.4%, which is now submitted for approval to consult with the community.
Parry’s report says “there is an element, no doubt, of the council ‘kicking the can down the road’. However, this is being put forward as a recognition that the community is not well positioned to absorb a very large rate increase. Ultimately that will mean there will be two reasonably large rate increases spread over two years’’.
The report says like most other councils, the Gore District Council has discovered that there is nowhere to hide when faced with steeply rising costs, soaring depreciation levels, and large Three Waters infrastructure investment and upgrades.
The forecast rate increase, along with other large increases around New Zealand, suggests that funding of local government in New Zealand is in dire need of being overhauled.
But until national reform on this front occurs, the council has no alternative but to look to its ratepayers for the funding required to meet legislative obligations, the report says.