Waipa District Council
Waipā ratepayers may pay up to 6% more in the coming year.
A 6% rates hike is looming over Waipā ratepayers and residents will be digging deeper into their pockets amid soaring inflation and rising interest rates.
Cyclone Gabrielle has made matters worse and will set back the Council budget by $200,000.
The increase, from the original 3.7% rise in Waipā’s 2021-2031 10-year plan, is because councillors believe the pre-decided figure is looking unrealistic without cutting back on key services.
Councillors will meet on Tuesday to debate the potential rates rise as part of the 2023-24 draft Annual Plan discussion. Annual Plans identify and confirm budgets for the coming year and also set rates.
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The issue of the rising inflation on council rates was raised late 2022 and councillors agreed to direct chief executive Garry Dyet to set a draft annual plan based on a potential average 5.9% rates rise.
Dyet said the delivering of the draft plan on Tuesday would remain challenging.
“We’ve got inflation tracking at 7.3%, more than twice what had been budgeted.
“Interest rates are now close to 5% compared to the 1.15% we’d allowed for in our 10-Year Plan.
“And now we’re seeing the impacts of supply chain issues further pushing prices up and butting up against staff and contractor availability.”
Moreover, the district took a further hit by Cyclone Gabrielle smashing trees and damaging parks, roads, and paths, Dyet said.
Council warned the clean-up, that could take months, had a potential price tag of $200,000 or more.
“It’s a perfect storm and councillors will have to weigh all of this up on Tuesday before they land on a work programme and rates figure they are comfortable with.”
Revaluation of properties in the district would be on the table in the upcoming staff report.
The final valuations won’t be available to property owners until early April, but early indications suggested the revaluations would impact most on the capital value of residential properties, not rural ones.
The staff report recommended only one of the four unbudgeted funding requests – $110,000 to the Cambridge Town Hall Trust – be supported.
The other projects are $12,173 to Waikato Screen New Zealand; $750,000 to the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame; and $70,000 to a youth employment hub in Te Awamutu.
Dyet said councillors had given the Trust a clear direction the Town Hall needed to be better used and made a much more useful asset to the community.
“The Trust can’t do that without an injection of funding. Staff support the request, noting it will be paid for by a targeted rate on Cambridge and Maungatautari ratepayers. But at the end of the day, it’s up to elected members to make that call.”
