Average 9.17% rate rise in store for Invercargill ratepayers
“We have worked hard to prioritise and include the projects the city needs, while managing rates and their impact on your back pocket carefully."
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Invercargill ratepayers have an expected average 9.17% rate rise instore for 2024/2025.
At a meeting on Tuesday, Invercargill City Councillors will discuss a draft long-term plan document that will be put out to public for consultation.
Included in that document is the forecasted average rate increase of 9.17% for the next year.
The proposed rate rise includes all of the council’s preferred options it is consulting on. It includes elderly housing, new glass bin recycling, and investing in reducing council’s carbon emissions.
Councils up and down the country are considering rates rises as high as 31.8% as civic leaders work through their long-term plans for 2024-2034.
High interest rates and inflation, and growing infrastructure costs are having a significant impact on council budgets.
In November Mayor Clark indicated a figure of a 35% rate increase for Invercargill had been suggested if the council was to carry out everything it wanted to do.
That figure has been whittled down to the 9.17% which is now likely to go to the public for feedback.
Commentary in the long-term plan document from Mayor Nobby Clark, councillors, and mana whenua representatives says: “We know the cost of living is increasing and has increased pressure on households significantly.
“We have worked hard to prioritise and include the projects the city needs, while managing rates and their impact on your back pocket carefully.
“We have been fortunate to inherit a strong financial position thanks to the prudent management of Councils’ past, and we are focused on continuing this legacy – for the benefit of our people today, and the generations who follow.”
For the average ratepayer, 3.84% of the rate increase is needed to pay for Three Waters and 5.33% for everything else.
Every property will have different rates depending on the value of the property and the services received.
The average residential rate rise for 2024/2025 is forecast at 8.21%, lifestyle properties at 11.53%, and commercial/industrial at 13%.
Over the next 10 years the forecasted annual rate increase range from 3.5% and 9.17%.
Public consultation on the 2024-2034 long-term plan will take place between February 29 and 2 April 2.
Consultation material will be available online at letstalk.icc.govt.nz, at Te Hīnaki Civic Building, at the Bluff Service Centre, at the Invercargill Public Library and at Murihiku Marae, and at a range of engagement events through the consultation period.
Submissions can made at all these locations, as well as via post to Te Hīnaki Civic Building and via email to policy@icc.govt.nz. Hearings are scheduled for 10, 11 and 12 April 2024, with deliberations planned to follow on April 30.
Its way past time that we got rid of the four councils doing their own things four different ways and moved to a single council for our province of around 110,000 people. Many who are moving into income brackets that are fixed and will not be able to continue to absorb the ever-increasing cost plus mentality of councils when it comes to fixing rates.
It is ridiculous that we have to keep fronting up to pay for duplications of costs right across the board and the present ever-increasing structures are slowly strangling the province.
Driving down North Road this morning it looks like we will soon need a multi story car park to house Environment Southland staff vehicles.
I haven't been past Great South recently but understand they are looking at bigger premises to house their rapidly expanding workforce as well.
Its just too easy to go out and continue to pass on costs to the ratepayers without any clear picture of when enough is enough.
Someone should do some comparisons on what percentage of a person living in their own home on a pension has to pay from their pension for council rates compared to 30 years ago.
It must be very close to 25% today and when it comes to value for money think about that as you bounce along our city streets.
Three Waters are just part of Council rates and have been for years and need to be maintained but alot of that cost should come from the depreciation charges that most councils include in each years annual plan and are there as a reserve to go towards there replacement. I think that it is time to put a halt on grandiose items such as Invercargill Central, where the rate payer is now the biggest funder, and getting very little return. Not to mention the millions spent on Esk and Don Streets. Currently there is the new museum and storage building, so please don't waste money on putting an unnecessary road through Wackner Place.
Why is it proposed to make the commercial ratepayers pay 4.79% more than the residential also what costs justify life style blocks also having a larger increase than the residential ratepayers as they rarely have any of the Tree Waters services