Budget Committee opts for no transition arrangement, some do face a 40% rates rise as a result

 

And so while I was getting my main PC fixed today the Auckland Council Budget Committee worked its way through aspects of the Draft Long Term Plan 2015-2025. Discussion included:

• Waste fees
• Inorganic collections
• Rates Transition in lieu of the new valuations

 

It seemed though the Rates Transition caused the most debate today among the Councillors. The following statement from Council reads:

Council agrees same rates for same value properties

 

Auckland Council’s Budget Committee has rejected capping rates increases or decreases as part of its proposed rates policy for 2015/16, resulting in a fairer rates distribution among residential ratepayers.

For the past three years, council has capped rates increases at 10 per cent for Auckland households. This was funded by limiting decreases.

The cap was put in place to limit what would have been large increases for some people as council transitioned from eight inherited rating policies to one.

Today’s decision now means that all ratepayers who own similar value properties would pay the same rates. Many of those ratepayers facing the largest changes are yet to fully move from legacy council rating policies or have seen major increases in their property values.

The decision means the average rates increase for residential ratepayers is 5.6 per cent as a result of recent changes to the ratings policy, which include:

• Average rates increase of 3.5 percent from 2015/2016
• Plus 1 per cent transfer from business to residential rate payers
• Plus 1.1 per cent arising from revaluation adjustment for farm/lifestyle to residential ratepayers

 

The majority of ratepayers, around 85 per cent, will have rates increases of less than $7 per week or, in some cases, rates decreases.

Committee chair Mayor Len Brown said today’s decision was about ensuring fairness to ratepayers.

“Today’s decision not to include a rates cap both on increases or decreases is to ensure ratepayers with similar value properties are paying the same rates no matter where in Auckland they live – I think Aucklanders will agree that’s the fairest move.”

The Governing Body will be asked to adopt the budget committee decision next week.

Aucklanders will have the opportunity to have their say on this policy during consultation on council’s 10-year budget early next year.

The budget committee agenda is online at http://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2014/11/BUD_20141118_AGN_5544_AT_SUP_WEB.HTM (Note from Admin: I cant access the link so I am unable to embed the agenda paper into this post. However, I will try again later today for your ease of reading)

—–ends—-

 

Just a pointer that Bernard Orsman from the Herald did have his figures correct in that 0.71% (Council said under 1% but implied the Herald either got it wrong or falsely implied) of the 525,000 ratepayers will face a Rates increase of over 40%.

 

So some will get Rates decreases bordering the 10% mark (the Islands and in part Papakura to a lesser extent) while areas on the southern Isthmus, lower North Shore, and parts of upper Mangere-Mangere Bridge face rises of at least 20% with some hitting 40%.

For me I was looking at a 4% rise from the base rate which does not include any new charges that might be brought in for example transport. Addison on average were looking at a 2-4% decrease.

 

Some historic commentary on the wider context of the Rates and Valuation movements:

The Unitary Plan, the Recent Valuations

Run Through The Valuations

 

A podcast on the entire situation will go up later in the day.