Tauranga City Council is seeking feedback on whether to use a levy or rates to pay for the community-funded portion of the future civic precinct - Te Manawataki o Te Papa.
The new civic precinct in the city centre will see the development of a library and community hub, civic whare (community meeting house), museum and exhibition gallery on the central city block bounded by Wharf, Willow, Harington and Durham streets.
Upgrades to Baycourt and Tauranga Art Gallery, along with associated landscape and waterfront improvements, will also add to a greatly enhanced city centre environment.
Set to be developed over the next five years, the civic precinct will help revitalise the area and make it the economic, cultural and heritage heart of the region.
In July this year, the Commission gave the green light to move ahead with the development and reaffirmed its commitment to cap community rates-funded debt for the project at a maximum of $151.5 million.
The additional funds to pay for this $306.3 million project will come from external funding sources, such as TECT’s recently approved $21 million grant and the $12.1m already received from central Government.
As part of its financial strategy, Council is proposing to use the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act as an alternative way to help fund the development.
Commission Chair Anne Tolley says an IFF levy would ensure the civic precinct projects have the financial backing they need to be delivered, with the cost of borrowing fixed for 30 years.
It also spreads the cost across current and future city ratepayers – ensuring that everyone benefiting from Te Manawataki o Te Papa contributes towards the cost.
“As the fastest growing city in New Zealand, Tauranga is facing a number of infrastructure pressure points. It’s extremely important we continue to invest in the community facilities and infrastructure we need to keep up with our projected growth, while still carefully managing our debt position.
“The IFF levy helps us do that because it would sit outside our balance sheet and would not be classified as Council debt. That means we would keep enough ‘debt headroom’ to continue investing in other vital infrastructure, while staying well within our debt limits.”
The IFF levy approach would also provide funding certainty that Council can implement Te Manawataki o Te Papa in the proposed timeframes.
Anne says that if IFF funding is not used to cover the community-funded portion of Te Manawataki o Te Papa, it will still go ahead, but would be paid for through rates.
As the draft 2024-34 Long-term Plan assumes the levy will be in place, if it is not approved, debt levels and rates would increase above those to be presented in the draft 2024-34 Long-term Plan, and other infrastructure projects may need to be put on hold. She also notes that IFF funding would be subject to Government approval and achieving competitive borrowing terms.
Have your say on whether the community-funded portion of Te Manawataki o Te Papa should be paid through an IFF levy or though rates.
Community consultation is now open and closes on Friday, October 6.
For more information and to share your thoughts, head to: letstalk.tauranga.govt.nz/levyproposal
16 comments
Foot Traffic
Posted on 15-09-2023 06:57 | By Thats Nice
And who exactly will visit these areas frequently? A library, museum and an exhibition gallery aren't going to attract a lot of people - end of. Don't waste anymore of the rate payers money please.
Who decides that we will all benefit?
Posted on 15-09-2023 07:06 | By PGC
I can't think of anyone I know who will be interested in visiting this White Elephant. Yet again the government appointed dictatorship has decided what they want and will force it through regardless of what the rest of the city wants. The ratepayers yet again will be forced to hand over more of their hard earned cash to fund something that is of no interest or benefit to them! 😡
User Pays
Posted on 15-09-2023 07:41 | By R1Squid
I am retired and live at Papamoa Beach where there is everything I want or need. I don't need the Tauranga CBD or the attractions there and so, why should I pay for it in my rates.
Planning
Posted on 15-09-2023 07:53 | By Naysay
Budgets , planning before you removed the old building . How would you sue tut the read world with out mum and dad ratepayers funding you?
White Elephant
Posted on 15-09-2023 08:54 | By Equality
A bl--dy white elephant that we will be paying for for the next 30 years! Add on the Domain Stadium - the upgrade at Bay Park etc. which will go ahead as the commissioners are set on it. To hell with what ratepayers tell them. If they, along with maori want it - let them pay for it!! No way will they ever pay for themselves. It is verging on criminal forcing this debt on our city!
White Elephant
Posted on 15-09-2023 10:33 | By Fernhill22
This is going to be another White Elephant, where rate payers' funds are wasted on a grandiose scheme. With the lack of parking who is going to come down to the CBD & with the prices that are currently being charged for the parking available you can forget it. I'm all for transforming the CBD and creating a vibrant waterfront but this civic precent is poorly planned & will no doubt be poorly executed by TCC as well driving further businesses bankrupt in the process as well. Has anyone thought of using part of Memorial park as a car park hub that could allow people to park there all day & to walk/ catch buses into town??? Unless there is a solution to parking then this becomes a White Elephant and is a complete waste of money.
Another reason to leave Tauranga
Posted on 15-09-2023 10:38 | By joan king
I have lived in Tauranga for nearly 15 years and only once gone into the city centre and that wasnt by choice. Never again. Couldnt find a park and ended up in 9th Avenue and had to walk in and as a person in their 70's this really isnt appropriate. A library, museum, exhibition gallery etc is a niche market. Council seem to have lost the plot somewhat and are not dealing with the main core items to keep a city running, like roading for instance. Maybe the IFF but shouldnt be on the rates. So many people would never use these facilities but be expected to pay for them when they cant put food on the table..... I think a lot more thought should go into this rather than just spending up large.
funds
Posted on 15-09-2023 11:47 | By dumbkof2
please just can the whole idea. the majority of Tauranga people don't want this waste of money.
PUBLIC SERVANTS means that, serve the public!
Posted on 15-09-2023 12:15 | By Omni
Get on and spend our personal money wisely. We are a hardworking family with rates including regional at over 5k and rising each year!!!!... I wonder how we can all continue to survive with Anne Tolly and her crew throwing our money at these types of non-helpful community projects that are wants rather than needs! Our roads are dire and can't handle the amount traffic, (which also makes them unsafe) we don't have enough police, we have homeless people sleeping everywhere and rubbish strewn all around our city. What the people want is a safe, friendly, helpful community that we can be proud of and that we can afford to live in, not what the Council tells us we MUST have, at our expense. PUBLIC SERVANTS means that, serve the public!
The Mastrer
Posted on 15-09-2023 12:34 | By Ian Stevenson
The "city" massive spend up is and will be a huge cost to ratepayers, call it community funded, debt, IFF or whatever other creative label, it all means that Ratepayers will have a huge burden to pay for the massive amount of debt, the huge annual losses and costs related for every year onwards... no escape.
Some predictions, realistic ones (Not from TCC)place the annual cost to add to rates as being around $60-70 million/pa?
What does this show
Posted on 15-09-2023 12:51 | By an_alias
You HAVE NO BUISINESS CASE for this atrocity of money to be spent.
You feedbak is need, no it is ignored and you do what you want.
If YOU can't make a sound business case for this, IT SHOULD NOT BE BUILT.
Anne, say we need to pay more tax.
Just watch the people leave.....its going to happen with this lot
It starts already...
Posted on 15-09-2023 13:05 | By morepork
Speaking only for myself as a ratepayer: I never voted for this, a vote that we DID hold on a museum, was dismissed because it didn't suit the Commission, and I don't believe that it will "revitalise the City", although it will certainly look nice. So, I am against it AT THIS TIME... (not necesarily forever... maybe once we address more pressing priorities and we have some of the existing debt under control we can look at it again, but NOT NOW...) However, it will go ahead because the Commissioners answer to nobody, least of all the Tauranga Ratepayers. If IFF funding fails we can expect Rates and Levy increases (we are already being primed...). "It also spreads the cost across current and future city ratepayers – ensuring that everyone benefiting from Te Manawataki o Te Papa contributes towards the cost." No, it doesn't. "everyone" is NOT a Ratepayer.
When you asked us we said no. Repeatedly
Posted on 15-09-2023 13:30 | By michelem
So the options are "hell" and "bloody hell". We have repeatedly said we don't want a museum. It's a "nice to have" but in a parallel universe where we're not already stretched to breaking point. Meanwhile this faux council keeps making decisions either without consulting us or consulting us then ignoring our views. And meanwhile these faux councillors keep their snouts firmly in the trough. That's our money. Give us back a democratic council and a democratic choice.
And who wants to come to the city when Cameron Road is still such a disaster after all these years, parking is a nightmare and rents for trading space seem prohibitive for small local businesses? Get the basics right first. The Tauranga CBD used to be a lovely place to visit, shop and explore the waterfront and local historic sites. You've turned it into a wasteland.
Smoke and mirrors
Posted on 15-09-2023 17:26 | By Kancho
So another levy is a different word for a tax or a rate ? Who pays this levy ? Answer we do as a separate line called levy on our rates bill. its a smoke and mirrors so we still end up with the bill for the CBD debacle that probably will cost a lot more as it grows . It's determined by council how much you pay according to your property and is struck over a time period, so you will certainly be paying for their grandiose schemes of museums, offices etc What advantages ? When clearly more important essential services should be funded before museum etc another water supply shortage on its way. All thanks to Labours Mahuta and over commissioners that answer to no one locally . No democracy just like the government with unbridled spending if other people's money
@Omni
Posted on 17-09-2023 13:44 | By morepork
An excellent post which reminds everyone of the actual function of the Council. We don't talk about this because we gave up long ago on seeing ANY aspect of serving the community what it actually wants and needs. There seems to be no chance of them actually engaging with the real community of Tauranga; the only people they talk to are those with vested interests and the Ratepayers are very low down their list. It seems they will continue to serve what looks good on the Commissions' CVs, and suits the wealthy, privileged, business cronies they surround themselves with. I don't know how they sleep nights, and the sooner they are gone, the better it will be for Tauranga.
@michelem
Posted on 18-09-2023 12:50 | By morepork
Amen! An excellent, succinct statement of the situation. It HAS become a wasteland and there is no sign of any softening in the Commission's approach.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.