Council’s rates calculator leaves residents reeling
Winter’s coming for Hamilton ratepayers and many are unaware of the ferocity of the financial chill that awaits them.
Residents could be faced with a 19.9% rates increase next year and 15.5% annually for the following three years under Hamilton City Council’s draft Long Term Plan as the council struggles to deal with inflation and debt management.
Hamiltonians have an opportunity to have their say on how the city’s finances are run but as of Thursday only 678 submissions have been received. One thing that might shock them into submitting is the council’s rates calculator, which shows residents their individual proposed rates increases for the next three years.
Judy de Jong’s rates bill will rise by almost $3000 over the next four years. The Flagstaff resident says it’s probably going to “become a little bit more stretched” for her and she feels sorry for working families who need every dollar. She felt disappointed in the council as ratepayers were being used to pay debt. “Whereas other people should be made responsible who got them there in the first place.”
“The $7000 (rates bill for one year) in a couple years is very surprising ... I mean, I will be OK but I feel sorry for the middle class family, the mum and dad who are working and they are still trying to make ends meet ...”
Hamilton Parade resident Len Helms, 79, was concerned by how much his rates would rise by 2027 – from $4939.93 to $7902. They were in a unique position, Helms said, because under capital value their rates had actually gone down – in 2014, councillors voted to change the rating system from land to capital value after a failed attempt several years earlier.
He thought the proposed rates rises were needed “in the sense that we have too much debt”.
“The biggest problem is how it has arisen... if we were running the city efficiently, we wouldn’t need the increases as big as what they’re proposing.
“Councils and governments... they don’t make a decision until they count the votes it’s going to cost them. That’s the way democracy works, unfortunately, unless you’re in a, you know, a communist or a dictatorship.”
Helm said he had made submissions on things in the past but not on this draft Long Term Plan.
“There’ll be other people do it and it’s not that I’m blase about it ... you beat your head up against a brick wall when you go to council but sometimes it does get through and there are a lot of people that are far better at tackling them than I am.’’
Josie van Weerd, who doesn’t live in Hamilton but owns rentals in the city, was shocked with the increase on one of her properties – from $1978.35 to $3.165. She owns six out of a block of seven flats.
Asked if it could lead to increasing their rental prices van Weerd said yes, but “it doesn’t cover it, that’s the problem. We’ll be more and more out of pocket”.
Another Hamilton ratepayer who didn’t wish to be named said the increases were “getting very steep”.
“I expected them to put it up something but maybe not that amount.”
He said his family would survive but they may have to cut a few other things out.
The council’s long term plan is currently out for public consultation until April 21. The council is warning Hamiltonians “risk their views” being unheard if they don’t provide feedback through official channels, but some spoken to by the Waikato Times don’t see the point, saying rates will go up anyway.
Chief executive Lance Vervoort said commentary on social media showed people had strong views on the proposals but “we need to see that passion come through in the volume of people providing the type of feedback we need”.
Vervoort dismissed suggestions that council’s consultation is a box-ticking exercise or that feedback is disregarded wholesale.
“The Long-term Plan is our community’s primary opportunity to influence the way that council runs the city.
“We want to hear from residents about any aspect of council business – if there is something you want us to keep, stop or start doing then you need to give us that feedback through the website.”
Just a week ago, only 212 submissions had been received while 6000 people had visited the consultation pages, and almost 4000 users had accessed the rates calculator.
Asked if she had made a submission, de Jong said: “What’s the point? You’re always banging your head against the wall. They’re going to go up anyway.”