Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

There has been a lot of concern from the Western Bay district about the forecast increase in the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's general rates for the district as signaled in the draft Regional Council's Ten Year Plan.

In the draft plan for 2012/13, the total general rates payable for a property in the Western Bay district with an average property value were forecast to be $173 per year, an increase of $29 from last year.

This increase is now forecast to be halved to an increase of about $14.50 for an average property because of the property value equalisation process that the regional council has just undertaken. This process looks at changes in property values across the region and spreads the general rate burden according to property value relativities.

Property values in the Western Bay have dropped substantially during the past year – due to the impacts of Psa and the global financial downturn. The ‘average' land value has dropped $50,000 to $265,000. Since average values in Tauranga and the eastern part of the region haven't changed overall, adjustments have been made to spread the general rate burden accordingly. This has meant that the total general rates forecast for an ‘average' property in Rotorua have increased for next year from the draft plan, while Western Bay's total general rates forecast increase has dropped from that in the plan out for consultation.

This week, the regional council will be hearing from submitters on the Ten Year Plan who will no doubt be concerned about rates increases. I also was very concerned about what the plan meant for residents of the Western Bay, who will undoubtedly be finding the going tough financially. The drop in property values has produced a tiny silver lining – but I am looking forward to deliberations on submissions, so we can see if we can pare off some other costs in the plan.

If you have any views on this or any other issue, please email me, [email protected] or phone me, 07 579 5150. Or you can check out my website www.janenees.co.nz