Latest news with #ratesincrease
RNZ News
29-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Is this the lowest rates rise in the country? Whanganui council holds firm on 2.2 percent
The plan for 2025/26 will go before the council in June to be adopted. Photo: Unsplash / Tom Rumble Whanganui District Council is sticking to an average rates increase of 2.2 percent following deliberations on its draft Annual Plan. Mayor Andrew Tripe believes it's the lowest rise in the country for the year ahead. The plan for 2025/26 will go before the council in June to be adopted. Tripe said the council has focused on doing the basics well, investing in core infrastructure, and involving the community in decision-making. The big topics thrashed out by the council in this week's deliberations were creating a standalone housing entity to grow housing stock, adopting a new strategy for Whanganui, changes to fees and charges, and increasing loan repayments. In each case, community feedback aligned with the council's preferred options. Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin On Thursday, the council confirmed it would: Operational budget changes have also been made since the council opened its draft Annual Plan 2025/26 for consultation. This includes water levies set by water services authority Taumata Arowai to recover the cost of regulatory functions. These levies will take effect from 1 July, 2025 and are expected to cost around $16 per household. Tripe said it was "incredibly frustrating" to receive news of the levies just as the council was about to adopt its budgets for the year ahead. "It is yet another example of central government shifting costs to local councils and communities - when it should be administered and funded at a national level." These levies, along with proposed Commerce Commission levies, would be incorporated into the Annual Plan budget for 2025/26 and would affect three waters rates for connected households. To ensure full transparency, the levies would be identified on rates notices. However, they would not increase overall rates due to additional income from other council revenue streams. The Annual Plan will be adopted on 26 June, with the plan taking effect from 1 July. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
ABC News
23-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Hepburn Shire Council sparks community outrage with one-year 10 per cent rates rise
Residents of Hepburn Shire, home to the tourist town of Daylesford in Victoria, are furious the cash-strapped council is pushing through a one-year 10 per cent rates increase. Earlier this month the Essential Services Commission approved the extra 7 per cent on top of the 3 per cent cap set by the state government. "We've had to find some more money and that's what we're attempting — to do it as a once off, said Hepburn Shire Council Mayor Don Henderson. Faced an annual $4 million cash shortfall, Hepburn Shire Council said the rates increase would generate an additional $1.36 million in revenue to be invested directly into necessary services and infrastructure. The council had been plagued by financial woes in the past decade. It lost $5.65 million in a failed Rex project which began in 2016 and was meant to transform a Daylesford art deco building into a multi-use centre for residents and the council. Cr Henderson said the failed project was only partly to blame for the rates increase. "We have a lot of heritage buildings and we have to maintain those," he said. He said the clean up following "fairly devastating" storms in Trentham and Creswick in 2021 and 2022 also cost the council $3.5 million. The council's draft budget for 2025-'26, including the double digits rates increase, is open for public feedback until June 5. According to the council the increase would see ratepayers pay on average an extra $2.20 per property per week. Blampied resident Cameron McPherson was among the ratepayers furious about the increase. "When you put this in combination with this new fire services levy it is going to affect my wife and I to the tune of $2,000 to $3,000 extra a year," he said. Mr McPherson said he wanted to see some "accountability". "If you're going to put up rates by 10 ten per cent in this cost of living crisis then you need to justify it and they aren't justifying it," he said. Deborah Clarke and her wife Lousie McLachlan live in the Hepburn Shire and have a business in Daylesford. They expect to pay an extra $300 to $400 a year on top of "a cost of living crisis". Ms Clarke and Ms McLachlan said a lack of community consultation was driving community anger. "We've been screaming for an indoor pool for 25 years." Cr Henderson said the rate rise had to be justified to the Essential Services Commission. "We had to show the commission we've tried other methods of raising money — be that by asset sales, or loans and cutting our costs in some areas," Cr Henderson said. "It's regrettable but necessary. We're trying to [cause] as little impact as we can but we still do have to find the money." Despite the rent increase Cr Henderson said Hepburn had the 60th lowest rates out of 79 councils in the state, and the rates increase would only be for this year. The ABC contacted the Muncipal Association of Victoria but it declined to comment, saying it was up to councils to set rates as they see fit.
ABC News
16-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
North Sydney Council's steep rates increase plan ruled out by IPART
North Sydney Council has lost a bid to hike rates by almost 90 per cent, with the regulator ruling it failed to make a compelling case for the massive rise. The council applied to increase rates by 87 per cent over two years, pushing minimum residential rates from $715 to $1,548. Under the plan submitted to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) rates for businesses would have gone up by even more. The council claimed it needed the extra revenue to immediately start repairing its financial position, build up unrestricted reserves to guarantee financial strength and fund new infrastructure. The issue has caused an uproar in the community since it was announced, with a council meeting in February descending into chaos when councillors voted to approve the plan. During that meeting North Sydney Mayor Zoë Baker shouted "this is an outrage" as locals heckled and called for the resignations of councillors supporting the proposal. In knocking back the council's plan, IPART said the council failed to clearly identify the need for the dramatic increase in rates, and also that it was not clear about how it would spend the money It noted criticisms from locals that the rates increase would be used to pay for a massive blowout in the cost of redeveloping the North Sydney Olympic Pool. That project has seen the iconic swimming spot remain a construction zone since 2021. IPART has ruled instead of the 87 per cent requested, the council can only increase rates by 4 per cent next financial year, but it can lodge a new application in future years. Cr Baker told 702 Radio Sydney Breakfast in the wake of the ruling that the council will have to cut $25 million from its budget for the coming financial year to avoid a "real cash liquidity crisis". "If that's the case, the IPART process is just not fit for doing really long-term structural repair." Cr Baker said the council did not want to to sell assets to meet its financial obligations, so cutting the budget is the only short-term solution. The Northern Beaches Council, which sought to increase rates by 40 per cent over three years, has had only the first two years of its plan approved, meaning rates will rise by 25 per cent by 2027. Mayor Sue Hines said IPART's review of the council's cost savings and budgets was positive. "I don't think people realise that councils these days provide so much more than roads, rates and rubbish … everything you virtually look at or touch is normally an asset of councils," Cr Hines said.
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Tauranga ratepayers fight ‘wicked' 12% rates rise
Mark Kenyon-Slade says Tauranga rates keep going up "relentlessly". Photo: LDR / Alisha Evans Ratepayers are urging Tauranga City Council to "rein in spending" and focus on the basics to curb a "wicked" 12 percent rates rise. The council christened its new chambers on Devonport Rd on Tuesday with a meeting to hear public feedback on its Annual Plan for 2025/26. The plan, which proposed an overall rates rise of 12 percent, received 968 written submissions and 96 people asked to speak to the council directly. Submitters asked for rates to be reduced, more community facilities in Pāpāmoa, and gave feedback about Local Waters Done Well. Mark Kenyon-Slade said there was "great frustration and annoyance" because rates kept going up "relentlessly". "There's a feeling out there that council is addicted to spending. "Council needs to rein in spending. Spending other people's money is extremely easy. "It is a responsibility of us all around this room to take this more seriously." Kenyon-Slade questioned why the rates increase was 12 percent when inflation was less than 3 percent. "It's wicked, it's absolutely wicked." Ōtūmoetai resident Neil Pollett said the council's rates increase should be capped at the rate of inflation. "Ratepayers are not a bottomless pit of money that TCC can keep mining to fund its future pet projects. "A lot of residents feel unhappy with the direction of our council and feel utterly powerless in their ability to influence it." Jan Gyenge wanted no residential rates rise. Photo: LDR / Alisha Evans Jan Gyenge said the residential rates increase was not sustainable. "There should be no residential rates increase in the 2025/26 annual plan." Gyenge said $40 million in savings needed to be found so residential rates wouldn't need to be increased. "Ratepayers need to be respected." Removing that increase would make a positive step towards building people's trust and confidence in the council, she said. Mayor Mahe Drysdale said the council had found $29m in savings to bring the rates rise to 12 percent. "We are on track to hopefully find another $10 million of savings, and unfortunately that only gets us to a 10 percent average rate rise." To avoid a rates rise, the council would need to find $80m in savings, Drysdale said. Pāpāmoa resident Ron Melville said council needed to get the basics right. Photo: LDR / Alisha Evans Ron Melville of Pāpāmoa said the council should spend 50 percent of its budget on core services, 30 percent on parks, reserves and public space and 0 percent on "overpriced city centre developments". "We are not here to bankroll a downtown utopia while our own footpaths crumble and our parks go unmowed. "This is not about being anti-progress, it's about getting the basics right." Construction has started on parts of the council's $306m new civic precinct, Te Manawataki o Te Papa . Nathan York, chief executive of Pāpāmoa East-based development company Bluehaven Group, said about 30 percent of Tauranga's population lived in the eastern corridor. He wanted the council to invest in facilities for Pāpāmoa. "We're particularly keen to see an aquatic facility that meets a regional and national standard." Pāpāmoa Rugby Club chairperson Nick Jones and committee member Leah Sutton. Photo: LDR / Alisha Evans Pāpāmoa Rugby Club chairman Nick Jones said Gordon Spratt Reserve, where the club was based, was over capacity and used by many sporting codes. He asked the council for land at 4 Stevenson Drive, in Golden Sands, to be zoned active reserve so fields could be built and the club could relocate there. This would enhance recreation facilities for the growing Pāpāmoa community, he said. It would be an ideal a permanent home for the rugby club, Jones said. "Our proposal supports the social, cultural, and sporting fabric of Pāpāmoa." Submitters also spoke about Local Water Done Well. There was an even split between people who were in favour of the council joining with other councils to deliver three-waters services, and those who believed the council had good water infrastructure and didn't need to partner with others. The Annual Plan and Local Water Done Well hearings would continue on Thursday. The council would deliberate on the Annual Plan on 26 May. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
