GLENFIELD RATEPAYERS &RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

media release 16 June 2006

statement from David Thornton

North Shore Council 9.9% Rate Increase is Bad Enough - But Worse is to Come.

Rates Will Increase by 54% in Just Four Years

The North Shore City Councils decision today to increase rates by 9.9% is outrageous for a single year’s increase.

But worse is to come.

In the 10-year plan approved today there are are increases proposed of between 8.6% and 9% for each of the following three years.

As a result of the compounding effect of successsive increases of this size the average ratepayer currently paying $1,500 a year will be paying $2,310 in 2009/10, - the year before New Zealand host the Rugby World Cup.

That is a whacking 54% increase in just four years.

That increase percentage relates to the council’s total rate ‘take’ and is the’average’ increase across the city.

For individual ratepayers whose homes were recently revalued above the average that 54% rate increase could be as high as 75% or even 80%.

The time has come for legislation to be passed putting strong limits on councils’ ability to lift expenditure which leads to rate increases way beyond the rate of inflation.

While some ratepayers will benefit from increased rate rebates from July 1st, that benefit will soon be whittled away by these horrendous rate hikes.

Instead of continually bashing the ratepayers the council should be pressing central government to remove GST from rates – and to urgently find alternative funding methods for local government.

ENDS

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