Council $3.1m rates blunder: New Plymouth households overcharged by $102
Photo:
RNZ / Robin Martin
An urgent review of New Plymouth District Council's (NPDC) annual plan has revealed that it has hiked residential rates by 12.8 percent, rather than the 9.9 percent indicated.
The blunder equates to $102 per ratepayer or $3.1 million.
The error was discovered as part of a review ordered when the NPDC approved its annual plan in May, exclusive of GST, meaning it could've forgone $20m in revenue.
New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom took personal responsibility for the mistakes and recommended that councillors approve a one-off rebate for ratepayers at an extraordinary meeting next week.
That would require the NPDC to find $3.1 million in savings elsewhere.
It was not the only mistake in the latest review.
The review and subsequent report produced by Simpson Grierson also identified a resolution wording error relating to industrial water use.
The rates resolution wording would need to be amended to ensure properties on a restricted water flow were able to be charged $418 for each cubic metre of water as intended.
This gaffe could've cost the council $1.4m in lost revenue.
Holdom said he was extremely disappointed by the errors and the impact they could have had on the community.
"As mayor, I take responsibility for the integrity of the information we use to make decisions. Councillors acted in good faith based on the data presented to us.
"We now know that information was flawed, and the safeguards we had to verify the validity of that information and the assumptions behind it have failed.
"I want to offer my sincere apology to our community. You deserve better. The buck stops with me, and I am committed to ensuring we learn from this, fix the underlying issues, to rebuild public confidence and find a way to put this right."
Holdom said the reporting errors did not affect the validity of the rates, but the council was taking action to mitigate their impact.
At an extraordinary meeting on 22 July, the NPDC council would decide between the following options:
Holdom said improvements to NPDC's internal processes and checks would be implemented immediately following the findings of the independent review.
Chief executive Gareth Green proposed structural changes to strengthen financial capability and oversight within the organisation.
"On behalf of the NPDC organisation, I wish to offer my sincere apologies to the mayor and councillors, and our entire community, for the failure of our systems and processes that led to these errors."
"As the leader of the staff organisation of NPDC, it is my responsibility to ensure that we have adequate safeguards to ensure that every piece of advice we provide our elected members is accurate and robust.
"That clearly has not been the case in this instance, and this failing shows that change is required."
Green said he was committed to implementing changes swiftly and building back the trust and confidence of the community.
Holdom said councillors would also be asked to update council policy to implement an independent review of all future financial plans.
"This situation highlights the risks of insufficient specialist financial experience, particularly in local government."
Holdom said that while Audit NZ signed off on the long-term planning process that included the incorrect rating assumption, "the community rightly expects that process to provide assurance [that] the underlying models and data are robust".
"That assurance did not eventuate in this case. We owe it to our community to be honest, to take ownership, and to do better. That's exactly what we are doing."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
17 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Inflation predicted to hit 12-month high for June quarter
High food, power and housing coasts are offset by cheaper fuel. Photo: RNZ Inflation is expected to hit a 12-month high, as surging food prices and power costs put the squeeze on household budgets. Consumer prices for the three months ended June are expected to have risen 0.6 percent, pushing the annual rate to 2.8 percent from 2.5 percent in March. ANZ senior economist Miles Workman said there would be familiar domestic drivers of the latest numbers. "The main drivers of quarterly inflation are expected to come from the food and housing-related groups - accelerating electricity inflation, but slowing rents and construction." High export prices for meat and dairy products have driven local food prices, and thus stoked inflation, but at the same time, they are delivering strong export returns that have supported the economy. ASB senior economist Mark Smith said the spike in inflation was expected to push the annual rate above three percent in the September quarter, but should prove to be temporary. "We expect the period of three percent-plus inflation to be short-lived. Forthcoming inflation expectations surveys will be critical for ascertaining whether team transitory or team persistence will win the inflation tug-o-war. "Our core judgement is that the deteriorating global outlook and the large margin of spare capacity will dampen the medium-term outlook for inflation." Workman said the higher inflation numbers would be uncomfortable reading for the Reserve Bank (RBNZ), which would have to balance between controlling inflation and helping the economy. "The RBNZ will need to balance any upside surprise in the CPI against the signal from the high-frequency data, which is currently pointing to a stalling recovery and therefore downside risks to the medium-term inflation outlook." In its most recent monetary review, the RBNZ acknowledged the speed-up in inflation, but also gave a strong hint of a further rate cut at the end of August. "If medium-term inflation pressures continue to ease as projected, the committee expects to lower the official cash rate further ," the RBNZ statement said. Kiwibank economists said the issue for the RBNZ and interest rate policy was underlying inflation trends. "Encouragingly, core inflation has been trending south since hitting the 6.7 percent peak at the end of 2022. In the year to March 2025, core inflation fell to 2.6 percent." They said the economy needed lower rates and they expected another 25 basis-point cut in August. At this stage, Workman picked the cuts in August, November and early next year would take the cash rate to a low of 2.5 percent. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
IKEA cagey about opening date for first NZ store this year
IKEA's new store at Sylvia Park is taking shape. Photo: Supplied Global furniture giant IKEA is due to open its first New Zealand store in Auckland some time this year, but has not yet told Auckland Council when. IKEA said it was still on track to open at Sylvia Park and had so far employed 85 of the 500 staff it needed. Within at least two months of opening, IKEA has to provide the council with an opening date and managment plan, but a council spokesperson confirmed it was still waiting to receive this information. The consent conditions for the big box retailer required it to submit an plan that detailed how it would manage the anticipated crowds expected to drive there. "No less than two months prior to the scheduled opening date of the Ikea store, the consent holder must prepare and submit a store opening management plan to Auckland Council for written certification," the consent decision stated. "The purpose of the plan is to set out the measures to be adopted to manage effects on the transportation network during the first three months following the opening of the store." IKEA has yet to announce its opening day, but indicated it would be in time for Christmas . The council indicated that, before an official store opening, it wanted Ikea to open online to manage anticipated demand and have a soft opening to test traffic management. It advised IKEA to avoid opening on public holidays, Fridays, weekends, Black Friday or Boxing Day. The council asked Ikea to provide details about "incentives to travel to the site by transport modes other than private vehicle, such as bus, train and active modes", as well as "comprehensive information provided to the public on travel routes to and from the store". Ikea must provide at least 54 bicycle parks and 543 carparks, and submit a travel plan to the council that shows how it would encourage employees and customers to use public transport, walk or cycle to the store. Construction began on the 34,000 square metre store in 2023 and the iconic blue building is taking shape at Sylvia Park . The ground level will be a carpark, with the store spread across two floors, including its Swedish restaurant that will sell meatballs and hotdogs. The retailer is still recruiting for its anticipated. IKEA people and culture manager Lauren Clegg said 15,000 people had applied for advertised roles by the end of May. She said 85 people had been employed so far and more roles would be advertised this month, attracting thousands of applicants. "There does seem to be a lot of people that are between jobs at the moment or struggling to get into work," she said. "I think we're in a really tough time in New Zealand, with the market at the moment, and that's probably contributing to some of our numbers." Clegg said the IKEA opening had caused excitement. "We're definitely on track to open late 2025, but the exact opening date is very under wraps for now." IKEA would continue to release and advertise for roles until November. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
'Announcement of an announcement': Govt accused of recycling projects in $6b infrastructure push
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. File photo. Photo: AFP / NurPhoto /Jakub Porzycki The opposition has dismissed the government's infrastructure announcement as a public relations stunt, while Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the projects will create thousands of jobs and improve the nation's productivity. On Sunday, Luxon joined Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop at Drury near Auckland's southern border, where the population was forecast to swell over the next few decades, to launch an infrastructure update showing $6 billion of government-funded construction due to get underway before the end of the year. The projects included the construction of a new acute mental health unit at Hutt Valley Hospital, seismic strengthening of the Parliamentary Library, and long-awaited upgrades to SH76 Brougham St in Christchurch. Bishop said there were almost $4b of roading projects in the list of work getting underway, including the Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway, the Melling interchange, the Waihoehoe Road upgrade, and the new Ōmanawa bridge on SH29. The projects would create thousands of jobs and lift productivity by getting people and freight to their destinations quickly and safely, Bishop said. But Green Party infrastructure spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said spending billions of dollars on roading projects would not solve the country's productivity crisis. Green Party infrastructure spokesperson Julie Anne Genter. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver "They're trying to distract from the fact their actions cancelling heaps of projects has led to a crisis in the construction industry here in Aotearoa, where last month almost a third of business liquidations were construction companies. "The coalition government has cancelled far more projects than any other government that I'm aware of. They cancelled the ferries, they've cancelled lots of public house builds, and other decisions they've made to cut public spending have led to a longer and deeper recession. "This is really a government trying to govern with PR stunts and slogans, and no real commitment to solving the challenges we're facing." A majority of New Zealanders wanted to take action on climate change, so getting off fossil fuels and onto more sustainable transport was a win-win that would do more for productivity, she said. Willis said the projects due to get underway included new roads, hospitals, schools, high-tech laboratories and other government buildings. "That means spades in the ground, jobs throughout the country and a stronger economy." Improving New Zealand's infrastructure was critical to growing the economy and helping with the cost of living, Willis said. Luxon said the government was "on the side of the Kiwis who need roads to get to their jobs at the crack of dawn, deliver essential goods like food and get their kids to school." He said the government would partner with the private sector "where it made sense". "We're obviously are doing a huge amount of investment ourselves as government, but it's a combination of both of those things." Labour's infrastructure spokesperson Kieran McAnulty characterised the announcement as nothing more than a distraction. "Just this morning... the Associate Housing Minister [Tama Potaka] finally admitted the government's policies have contributed to an unprecedented rise in homelessness and the best distraction they can come up with is an announcement of an announcement - I think that speaks volumes," McAnulty said. Labour's infrastructure spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker "There's nothing new in today's announcement. People knew that was happening, and some of it was actually started under the previous government. What the infrastructure sector actually want is certainty ... because we've already lost 15,000 workers in construction, many of them have gone to Australia, and every week we've got civil construction firms going under because of the lack of work. "Today's re-announcement isn't going to help any of those people. "It would have been preferable for the government to announce new work, or bring projects and maintenance work forward to give firms confidence and certainty, so they can either keep their workers or attract them back." References to private investment and collaboration rang hollow, McAnulty said. "We've been hearing the government talking about public-private partnerships since the day they came in - we still haven't seen any of them signed or underway. I'd like to see the government actually come up with something tangible." "Announcing things and making a big deal about things that they already had been announced or underway under the previous government is not going to give people the certainty they want," he said. Infrastructure New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett welcomed the announcement, which he said came at a time when the industry was "bleeding capability". Infrastructure New Zealand chief executive Nick Leggett. Photo: RNZ/ Tom Kitchin An Infrastructure New Zealand survey found 65 percent of firms had reduced staff over the past twelve months, and nearly half had lost workers to overseas markets. "New Zealand has an infrastructure deficit, and we need our skilled workforce here to close it." He said the country has a "perennial problem" with start-stops when it comes to building infrastructure, and he wanted to see a more "bipartisan approach". Leggett acknowledged the projects announced were not new, but said the industry association's focus was on the increase in projects underway by December this year, compared to last year. "And we're hopeful that in December of 2026, there'll be even more work. "We've got very skilled, professional people in different parts across the infrastructure industry that are keen to get their teeth into those projects announced today, some of them, of course, have been paused or cancelled previously. But the point is they're going to be in the market quickly." He wanted to see more work on smoothing out the infrastructure pipeline. "What we need to do is get agreed on what the pipeline looks like and never have the kind of stops we've seen in the last decade or so that pause or cancel projects. "Our economy needs this stimulus, and it needs these projects so people can get health and education results and be able to move around on transport projects that actually get built rather than just get argued over." The full list of projects due to get underway this year includes: The government said there was also a small number of "significant projects" which could not be named for "a range of commercial reasons", but were included in the $6b total. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
