Wellington mayor pledges to stop 15.9% rates rise next year

Thursday, 12 December 2024

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau says staff will try to find more ways to keep costs down. For now though, next year’s rates rise will be 15.9%.

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Local Government Minister Simeon Brown is urging the Wellington City Council to cut spending and focus on basics after a draft budget saw next year’s rates increase go as high as 15.9%.

It is a figure mayor Tory Whanau had pledged to get down as the council looks for new ways to find and save money before the final figure is locked in next year.

The council has already delivered four years of large rates rises of 12.8%, 8.8%, 12.3% then 18.5% (including a sludge levy) halfway through 2024, when it also forecast 10 years of big rates rises and predicted a 12.8% increase in the next financial year.

But the current draft budget for 2025-26 has a 15.9% increase.

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown: ‘Ratepayers are frustrated and want to see councils get back to the basics, instead of expensive nice-to-haves such as the Golden Mile.’

“I am committed to ensuring that Wellingtonians don’t incur a further rate increase as we work through our Long-term Plan amendment,” Whanau said.

The council was forced into amending its long-term plan after councillors voted down a sale of the council’s 34% stake in Wellington Airport, leaving it struggling to make up money.

But as it reworked the plan, Whanau had non-negotiables which were keeping investment in social housing, revamping the Golden Mile and spending $1.8 billion over 10 years on water infrastructure. She managed to keep all three.

But she had also committed to keeping rates rises to what was signalled in the long-term plan and, with a draft budget coming out with rates rises that breach that promise, Whanau said officers would work on ways to honour her commitment. That included looking at selling ground leases – land the council owns and leases to building owners.

Council staff were committed to find more savings to keep rates rises down to the 12.8% forecast increase, she said.

Councillor Diane Calvert blamed the mayor’s non-negotiables for the projected increase.

Brown, concerned about a last-minute change caused by the airport no-sale and how the council was spending and charging rates, in October installed a Crown observer to be his eyes and ears on council.

He on Thursday said the government was going to require councils to “focus on the basics and do them brilliantly”.

“Ratepayers are frustrated and want to see councils get back to the basics, instead of expensive nice-to-haves such as the Golden Mile,” Brown said.

“As the Prime Minister has said, councils must refocus on core infrastructure and services.”

The Golden Mile is a $139m revamp of the strip from Courtenay Place to the railway station. It is expected to be co-funded by the government and Brown’s office was on Thursday asked to confirm it was still funding its share.

Former Tasman District Council chief executive Lindsay McKenzie was picked for council observer job. He was asked if he was confident the council would be able to bring the 15.9% down to 12.8%.

“There will be a concerted effort by all to get that number down,” he said.

Councillor Diane Calvert said the new projected rates rises were “deeply concerning” and, even if the council was going to try to get the figure down, publishing the draft budget should have never happened.

“We must ensure that every dollar of ratepayer money is being spent wisely and on what Wellingtonians need,” she said.

“The mayor’s commitment to proceeding with costly projects like the Golden Mile, which many Wellingtonians have expressed opposition to, raises questions about whether the council is correctly prioritising the needs of the community.”