Media release

Tough Job For Supercity Council To Hold Rates.

Now we know who will be running our local councils for the next three years, the big question is ‘How good will they be at running them?’

Especially in Auckland where big-spending plans for transport will place enormous pressure on rates.

There is little doubt that the new Council will need to borrow heavily to pay for projects such as rail to the airport, the CBD loop and another Harbour crossing including rail to Albany.

The existing funding system will not support the level of demand Mayor Brown promises to create, so new ways of funding must be found.

On top of that will be substantial costs of re-organisation, including unquantified costs of redundancies - partly off-set by a reduction in pay-roll costs

And in September next year – just over ten months away – there will be a full revaluation of all Auckland properties, and the revaluation will be carried out on the basis of capital value, which is the basis for setting rates from 1st July 2012.

This alone is certain to bring huge changes in the incidence of rates on individual ratepayers.

The Government has, to some extent, recognised this looming problem and has legislated for the council to spread the impact of this major rating change over a three-year period.

The Mayor’s first job, after appointing his deputy and committee chairs, will be to get his office started on preparing his first budget, including an outline of the critical second year budget.

Ratepayers will expect all councillors and the Local Boards will carefully consider the future financial implications of every decision they make.

The success or failure of Auckland SuperCity will be judged largely on the effects of its actions on ratepayers’ pockets.

ENDS

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