Call to lower Wellington City rates as Crown observer comes in
Wednesday, 23 October 2024
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Calls for a Wellington City rates reduction have come from the least-likely of corners as a Crown observer comes in to oversee a new long-term plan.
“We know people are doing it tough,” said former Green Iona Pannett as she called for the Wellington City Council to reduce rates increases when it amended its long-term plan. This would be a lower-than-forecast 13% increase next year as opposed to a net rates reduction in the current year.
Most of the savings could come from capital expenditure – new stuff including the Golden Mile – but operational spending should also be looked at, she said.
Pannett – the city’s longest-serving current councillor who made her name as anti-bypass, pro-public transport and pro-bike – said on Wednesday she was the least likely to lobby for lower rates increases but times were so exceptional they were now called for.
Pannett was talking after a period of high drama at the Wellington City Council, triggered by a vote to cancel the sale of the council’s 34% stake in Wellington Airport – a decision significant enough that the council’s entire 10-year plan, only just signed off, now needs to be amended.
A week of speculation about whether the central government would intervene concluded on Tuesday with Local Government Minister Simeon Brown confirming a Crown observer would be installed at the council to keep a close eye on it and report back.
It is understood the council has 10 days to appeal that decision but does not plan to, meaning it will go back to Brown to appoint someone.
But it was the fact Wellingtonians were struggling to make ends meet that was Pannett’s biggest driver.
When the 10-year plan is amended, services should not be cut but the $139 million Golden Mile project, co-funded by the council and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, could be done a lot cheaper, she said. Setting up a perpetual investment fund to help the city recover from a disaster was still needed. Achieving a rates reduction would be “demanding”, she said.
Councillor John Apanowicz backed the council reducing next year’s planned 13% increase. He would like to see it drop to 10% or less.
Money could come from the Golden Mile, Khandallah Pool, the Botanic Garden Begonia House, Wellington Zoo upgrades, Ōtari-Wilton Bush, a new Kilbirnie skate park, and some money could be shaved from the planned $111m spend on new cycleways in the coming decade, he said.
Councillor Sarah Free said the council should look at reducing planned future increases.
“Reducing rates for this current year would be a tough call as many expenses will be locked in.”
Councillor Ray Chung, a long-time champion of lower spending, said having Pannett on side was “music to my ears”.
Councillor Tony Randle said the current focus was cutting capital spending to re-establish insurance debt headroom for an emergency fund. But some operating costs may be cut as a consequence, he said.
He supported Pannett’s call for a rates reduction, but said any serious reduction could mean reduced services and community support which he doubted had enough support around the council.
Councillor Rebecca Matthews said the focus was on adjusting capital spending and balancing insurance risks. Deputy mayor Laurie Foon said: “The focus for all councillors needs to be on working together to achieve an [long-term plan] amendment that does the best by Wellington”.
Diane Calvert said councillors did not yet have all the relevant facts and figures in front of them to make the call on where cuts could come to bring rates down.
Tim Brown said it was meaningless to call for rates cuts without calling for spending cuts to reduce rates or borrowing.
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