27 June 2012

Council Announces General Rates Increase Of 2.32 Per Cent

Waikato District Council’s emphasis was on ‘affordability and maintaining what we have’ when it adopted its Long Term Plan yesterday.

Following submission hearings and deliberations on the draft Long Term Plan, the council announced a 2.32 per cent increase in the district’s general rates for 2012.

This is a reduction from the 2.4 per cent increase signalled in the draft Long Term Plan. Savings from interest rate decreased arising from the local government funding agency have been applied to reduce the general rate.

Mayor Allan Sanson said people will see changes in the final Long Term document from the draft.

“And that’s as it should be, as we rely on the public’s submissions and feedback to provide us with insights into the issues that affect our communities on a daily basis. Through the plan process, we can then make the decisions that will reflect, and where we can, alleviate, those concerns.”

In total the council received 298 submissions, which addressed a wide range of issues, from transport, to community grants, debt, affordability and rates, and libraries. The overriding themes regarded debt levels, council benchmarking against other councils and efficiency, said Mayor Sanson.

“We are operating in a tough economic climate, so we have had to make some tough decisions with many deserving projects and issues put forward for our consideration.

“The final plan shows that we have been able to include some of those requests, while making savings in other areas to compensate. Others we have noted, but not included, for future years.

“Our emphasis has been on affordability and maintaining what we have and we’re confident the final plan demonstrates this.”

Key decisions in the 2012 -2022 Long Term Plan

Local Government Funding Agency
The Local Government Funding Agency will be a source of council funding in the future, with savings on interest to go towards reducing general rate increases each year.

Transitional rates remission
A transitional rates remission policy was adopted for a two year period to help address increases in rates brought about by the merging of two rating systems and the alignment of valuation dates.

Grants
As a result of submissions, operating grants have been added across the 10 years of the plan for the Waikato Coalfields, Raglan and Tuakau Museums, at $50,000, $20,000 and $5,000 respectively. The following organisations will receive one-off grants for 2012/13:
• The Ngaruawahia Volunteer Fire Brigade $25,000
• St John Te Kauwhata $25,000
• Ngaruawahia Community House $15,000
• Opus Orchestra $2,000
• Waikato River Alive $7,000

A further $5,000 per year from 2012/13-2015/16 has been allocated from the council’s events fund to help support the FIFA under 20’s World Cup.

Community board targeted rates
The council decided that the direct costs of running the Onewhero-Tuakau, Huntly, Taupiri, Ngaruawahia, and Raglan community boards will be recovered through a uniform targeted rate for each of those communities.

Economic development
After weighing up the feedback on economic development initiatives, the council decided to redirect existing budgets into an in-house economic development resource. By working closely with businesses, the development sector and other groups in the community, the council can ensure it contributes to helping create jobs through its core business functions.

Development Contributions Policy
As a result of submissions, the conversion rates for non-residential developments within the policy have changed; the factors for roading will go down, but the three waters factors increase. The council also revised their growth assumptions to reflect actual development activity and staging. The approach to growth is still conservative.

Dog control
All dog owners will be presumed to be ‘approved’ unless they prove otherwise within a 12-month period by incurring infringements. That means an $85 fee, with a $20 discount for payment before 1 August. Fees go up for those owners who incur infringements. Dog owners who meet specific conditions may be eligible as “selected” owners and will pay lower fees accordingly.

Warm-up New Zealand Heat Smart scheme
The proposal for a voluntary rate to help home-owners take advantage of this scheme will not go ahead as there was very little interest from the community in the proposal.

All decisions and changes from the draft plan are detailed in the final document, which is available online at www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz.

ENDS

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