Council settles on 6% rates rise

Waipā District Council has settled on an average rate increase of six per cent next year.

The increase was discussed today and once confirmed, will apply from 1 July 2023. Council has allocated $1.5 million of cash surplus from the last financial year to offset the increase.

At today’s Strategic Planning and Policy Committee meeting, it was agreed to add an extra $110,000 to next year’s budget for the Cambridge Town Hall Trust. The Trust manages the hall on behalf of Council.

However Councillors chose not to support three other non-budgeted funding requests including $12,173 to Waikato Screen New Zealand, $750,000 to the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame and $70,000 for a youth employment hub in Te Awamutu.

Deputy chief executive Ken Morris said the rates rise is an average figure after growth, and would be impacted by a coming revaluation of the district. Those revaluations from an independent provider would not be available until April.

“It is important to remember that the average rate increase is just that - an average - and there will be a broad range of outcomes on an individual property basis,“ Morris said.

Based on the average six per cent rise, a residential property in Cambridge valued at $960,000 would see a rate increase of $4.09 a week. A residential property in Te Awamutu valued at $720,000 would see a rate increase of $2.48 a week.

But a rural property in the district, valued at $3,080,000 would see a rates decrease of $8.69 per week, based on early information from Council’s independent property revaluations.

Waipā’s 2021-2031 10-Year Plan had only provided for a 3.7 per cent rise in the coming financial year. But last year staff indicated the impacts of inflation and interest rates made that figure unrealistic without cutting back on key services.

Councils are only required to consult on Annual Plans where there are big changes to work programmes outlined in 10-Year Plans. No major changes are planned and no consultation on the draft Annual Plan is required.

Council is remaining within its policy limit on rates increases which calculates at 6.3 per cent for this year.