A 7.04 per cent rates rise for Western Bay of Plenty residents is the 'prudent” thing to do according to the district's mayor.

But other councillors say 'people are hurting” and the council has a 'responsibility” to make the rates rise lower.

The 7.04 per cent average rates increase was adopted, via a split vote, at the District Council Annual Plan Committee meeting last week.

The councillors opted to reduce it down from the 7.41 per cent consulted on in the 2023/24 draft Annual Plan.

This was achieved through reducing project funding by $159,388 and decreasing the amount of rates money spent on new library books by $183,971. The books would still be purchased, but from the council's existing fund for book renewals.

Consultation on the annual plan ran for a month in April and 310 submissions were received, with 66 of these about the proposed rates rise.

Of those submissions, 57 did not support the ncrease, the main reason given being the impact of increasing costs across the board for those in the community, says council senior policy analyst Rebecca Gallagher's report to council.

Nine submissions were in support and acknowledged the cost inflation the council was also facing, says the report.

The council staff's preferred option was the 7.04 per cent increase and to use $1.6 million of the general rates reserve to fund projects in the annual plan, the report stated.

Speaking in support of the 7.04 increase, mayor James Denyer says feedback from the consultation was 'pretty muted” considering the rates increase was the 'main item” the council consulted on.

He says they received more feedback about upgrades to the Dave Hume Pool in Katikati. There were 161 submissions about the pool.

Mayor James Denyer said feedback received about the rates rise was 'pretty muted”. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

'I view that as a general acceptance of the rate rise and the understanding of the inflationary environment we are in,” says Denyer.

Lowering the rate to 7.04 'was a good thing” and told the community the council have listened to them, he says.

'I would warn strongly against going any further. It would be seriously imprudent given the ongoing inflation and the cost of the storm damage still to be factored in.

'I promised that when I got elected that I'd make the tough decisions and that we would be a council that didn't kick things down the road."

The rates rise is "at the bottom end" when compared to neighbouring councils, he says.

Thames Coromandel District Council's rates increase was 11.6 per cent, and Matamata-Piako District Council was 13.79 per cent, says Denyer.

The 7.04 per cent increase was the 'prudent decision for me,” says the Mayor.

The council's repair bill for storm damage to infrastructure from the Auckland Anniversary weekend severe weather event and cyclone Gabrielle was estimated to be $20 million. This did not include damage in Waihī Beach caused by flash flooding in May.

Councillor Rodney Joyce wanted to see the budgets cut back 'much further” and says he had 'put forward a spreadsheet suggesting a rates increase of 3.53 per cent”.

'Not that I expected the council to agree to everything in that, but I just wanted to show what was possible.

'People are hurting. They're looking for a signal from us that we're holding our belts. People's mortgage costs have gone through the roof.”

Councillor Allan Sole supported Joyce.

'We still are asking a lot of people that are going to struggle and we are not assisting them too much at present,” he says.

Councillor Margaret Murray Benge says: 'I think we all round this table are sitting in a pretty privileged position and haven't got a clue as to how people are really coping out there in the community at the moment.”

'[The] increase is above the inflation rate and what we are doing is just reinforcing the inflation rate to stay where it is, and we do have a responsibility to bring it down.”

Councillor Don Thwaites agrees the increase was 'prudent” for the council's business going forward.

'I believe 7.04 [per cent] in the current state of affairs is a good result,” he says.

Deputy mayor John Scrimgeour said the 7.04 per cent rates increase was a "reasonable expectation". Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

Deputy mayor John Scrimgeour says the 7.04 per cent increase was a 'reasonable expectation.”

He says during Covid the council had reduced the rates increase to 1.98 per cent one year and the implication on the rates increase the following year was 'a bit of a shock”, as it went up to 9 or 10 per cent.

'I'm very conscious and mindful that we don't want to be exacerbating the future situation.”

The 7.04 per cent rates rise was passed with eight councillors in support and four against.

Councillors also agreed to delay adopting the annual plan until August 30 because the district's property revaluations were not yet complete, and to consult further on the financial contributions paid by developers.

Gallagher says the property revaluations would 'hopefully” be publicly notified this week.

Further consultation on the draft financial contributions will run from June 19 to July 9.

The rates increase would still apply from July 1 with the first instalment notices sent out in September.

How they voted:

For the 7.04 per cent rates increase: James Denyer, John Scrimgeour, Anne Henry, Richard Crawford, Grant Dally, Andy Wichers, Murray Grainger, Don Thwaites.

Against: Rodney Joyce, Margaret Murray-Benge, Tracey Coxhead, Allan Sole.

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