Mayor is Jumping the Gun on Business Rate Decreases

Mayor Brown should step aside from any decisions on rating issues.

In a press release today Mayor Brown confirmed that business differentials on council rates will reduce over the next decade.

Any reduction in business rates will need to be balanced by a further increase in residential and rural rates.

However, Mayor Brown’s  statement must be premature, as the 10 year budget has not yet been approved as required by the Local Government Act.

Many submissions to the Long term Plan asked the Council to reduce proposed rate increases and those submissions are still being considered by the Council, and the Plan is not due to be finalised until sometime in June.

Therefore the Mayors statement sets a dangerous precedent as it shows that the Mayor has already made up his mind on the rates issue, and he is not keeping an open mind during  the consultation process.

The Mayor should now disqualify himself from any further involvement in the deliberations on the Long term Plan, and should note vote on any decisions on rating issues.

The mayor would leave himself open to a legal challenge and a review by the Auditor-General on the legality of the process.

Ratepayers who have made submissions calling for rates reductions will be insulted by Mayor Brown’s premature actions which appears to totally ignore their representations.

ENDS

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