Ratepayers saddled with almost 10% rates increase

Thursday, 27 June 2024

Christchurch ratepayers will be saddled with an almost 10% increase in their bills from Monday - and can expect a 60% jump in rates over the next decade.

The increase is much higher than previous years, but is less than the projected 13% in the draft budget earlier this year.

Many councillors warned the 9.9% increase could have been a lot more, but others argued it should have been lower and not enough was done to cut costs.

The rates rise was confirmed on Thursday when Christchurch City Council adopted its $16.8 billion, 10-year budget, the long-term plan (LTP), following a marathon meeting on Tuesday.

It is the culmination of 18 months of work from council staff and councillors, and also attracted a record number of public submissions - more than 7000.

While the overall rates increase sits at 9.9%, the average residential rates will increase 9.52% - $320 more a year, or $6.17 a week, based on an average-valued house of $764,000.

The average business rates will increase by 10.9%, equating to $1775 extra a year, or $34.14 a week.

The overall increase is much higher than in previous years. Last year the rates increase was 6.4%, and the previous four years were all under 5%.

But mayor Phil Mauger said 9.9% is one of the lowest rates increases passed by city councils across the country, and the council should be proud of the 10-year budget it had approved. Two years ago, during the election campaign, Mauger promised rates increases of 3% or 4%.

Dunedin City Council has approved a 17.5% increase for the 2024/25 year. Hamilton City Council 16.5% and Auckland City 6.8%.

However, councillors Aaron Keown, James Gough and Andrei Moore believed more should have been done to cut costs.

The trio voted against adopting the LTP, but it passed after the remaining 13 councillors and Mauger voted for it.

Mauger said the council had navigated choppy waters in a relatively strong position.

But Keown said councillors should not be “patting themselves on the back” because there were people who would lose their homes if the council kept increasing rates at more than double the rate of inflation, which is currently 4%.

“We went into this LTP hearing there is a cost of living crisis - no-one has mentioned that here,” he said on Thursday, referring to other councillors.

He said this was the one time in history the council should have cut almost everything.

“I have lost sleep over this … I get anxiety at freaking 3am in the morning.

“This table should have done a bit better this year.”

Keown also criticised Environment Canterbury’s 17.9% increase that was adopted this week, saying the organisation should “hang its head in shame”.

Gough said if the council wanted to help its residents, rates rises far above inflation needed to stop.

He said the city council should have fully reviewed the level of services it provides, but it did not.

Moore said he could not get his head around why the council did not look more closely at services that could be cut.

“We are here to scrutinise and look for savings. That is what is expected of us.”

Cr Sam MacDonald later pointed out councillors unanimously approved a letter of expectation, setting the scene for the LTP.

He said people were beginning to understand, it was a balanced council and the art of compromise was the only way it could make decisions.

Cr Jake McLellan said he was proud of where the council had got to without cutting services like swimming pools and libraries.

Cr Victoria Henstock said she was not happy with the rates rise but acknowledged the council was between a rock and a hard place.

She said there was a difference between “no, not ever” and “no, not now”, and the council needed to say the latter more often.

Cr Celeste Donovan said the LTP was all about people, and people had told the council they wanted a greener city that was safer to get around. They also wanted the council to continue to invest in Christchurch and finish the cycleways.

Funding approved in the LTP includes:

• $2.75b for clean drinking water, developing and maintaining stormwater and flood protection networks, and improving wastewater treatment facilities.

• $1.6b across the entire transport network.

• $830m on parks and foreshores including $185m in the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor, $87m on sports field development, $23m on Akaroa Wharf, $22m on Te Nukutai o Tapoa – Naval Point and $21m on Takapūneke Reserve.

• $1.8m is being brought forward for climate adaptation work.

• A climate resilience fund will be created to manage future changes to council assets, including moving or raising roads and protecting water infrastructure.

• $51m on repairing and restoring heritage items around Christchurch and Banks Peninsula, including $20m on the first stage of the Canterbury Provincial Chambers, $9m on Cuningham House in the Botanic Gardens, and $15m on strengthening and base isolation for the Robert McDougall Gallery.

• $140m will be spent on capital projects within Christchurch City Libraries, including $29m to rebuild the earthquake-damaged South Library.

• The Arts Centre, Orana Park and the Santa Parade also received money. Orana Park was given $500,000 a year for three years, while the Arts Centre will receive $860,000 in both 2024/25 and 2025/26, and then $500,000 a year for the rest of the 10-year plan.