Video: Hawke's Bay Regional Councillors express reservations as they adopt draft consultation document proposing rates rise of 19.6 percent
Hawke’s Bay Regional Councillors today expressed mixed feelings in agreeing to adopt a consultation document on a draft Three-Year Plan, that includes a proposed average rates rise of 19.6 percent for 2024-25.
At an extraordinary meeting today, Councillors agreed to ask the community to have their say on the draft Three-Year Plan, opening for consultation on Monday 15 April.
The plan proposes an average rates increase of 19.6 percent for 2024-25, 18.1 percent in 2025-26 and nine percent in 2026-27.
Regional Council Chair Hinewai Ormsby says the rate proposals are driven by the need to continue to deliver core functions and critical recovery work programmes in a challenging financial environment.
“We know people are doing it tough out there. We have gone through all the work at the council to see how we can keep the rates increases as low as possible.”
Councillor Neil Kirton told the meeting that that while he supported the resolution, he did so with some “significant reservations around that”.
“I look forward to the consultation process and ultimately the adoption of a plan hopefully a little bit more modified than we’ve got today.”
Kirton said that he could not get past page six of the supporting documents.
“What will the rates increase be? 19.6, 18.1, out here 9%. I appreciate the notion that our relative expenditure, the actual quantum, is relatively small. But at the end of the day, it's our job to look at the entire business as a whole, and recognise the nature of the rating base that we've got to fund it.”
“And this document tells us how the average residential rate payer will now pay $587 in 2024/25. Going back, we find that five years ago, in 2021, they were paying $293. So we've had a doubling, more than a doubling of the rate take over that period of time. And if I'm looking in from a ratepayer's perspective, and in this case I'm there to reflect the eyes of the Napier ratepayers or Ahuriri ratepayers, what's happened in that five years is that we've been flooded out twice.”
“Can we see an improvement to the environment? Is our history and our coastline better off? Can we get around the city better, et cetera? So a whole host, if you like, outcomes for the community.”
Kirton said that “sadly, I'd have to say that the outcome for our community possibly doesn't reflect a doubling of their rates”.
“And that's something we need to be somewhat sober around. And while accepting the circumstances we're in, I do think, this is not a reflection on staff, I think that at the end of the day the buck stops around the council table, and that we have missed an opportunity.“
He said that this was an opportunity to reduce the level of service and to uncomplicate it or simplify it.
“And I don't think we did that. I think we missed a trick. And I can see the circumstances why, but I am looking forward to the feedback perhaps as an open window there or an open door, by way of submission and comments from the community, to potentially make some changes, possibly too late. I appreciate that we have resigned ourselves to kick the can down the road. I think that's a mistake. I think we ought to have reframed, reshaped, reformatted the business, and taken this opportunity. But I will wait for the comments of the communities we represent to confirm or otherwise that outcome.”
Kirton said that he supported the resolution but did so with significant reservations.
“I look forward to the consultation process, and ultimately the adoption of a plan, hopefully a little bit modified than what we've got today.”
Councillor Martin Williams said that while he was not proud of the 19.6 percent rates increase, or the need to have a proposal that's stopping funding to Hawke's Bay Tourism, “that really just reflects the realities of the world we're in”.
“What I am proud of, is an organisation that through the infrastructure strategy in this document, has cleared up nearly three million tonnes of silt, prepared about 34 kilometres of stopbank, and negotiated 200 million in Crown funding, resolved land classifications for thousands of homes, reset an investment strategy to give greater resilience to our asset base.”
“The fact that we've kept our heads through all of this at all, with any kind of clear vision, particularly for the next three years, but also beyond. And the thing about this, and I see that really in the infrastructure strategy, we are recognising the here and now, the special, the focus on recovery, but equally with a real eye to the future, of what comes out of our various reviews.”
Councillor Sophie Siers said that ratepayers should take one day out of their year to read the documents.
“You really should invest a day of your year. And reading this, and the two, the financial and the infrastructure strategy, to actually see the work that's going on, that's affecting the way you live in the region, and the way that we are trying to plan for what might come.”
“I'll make sure that they're all at the drop-in sessions that I have. I'll also make the point that while we talk a lot about rates, and we talk about 20 percent and it's distressing, and people are struggling, I don't dispute any of that.”
“And when we see in the document that our range is sort of from an extra, some people's rates will fall, because of the changes in revenue and finance policy. But ranging from 50 cents a week on average up to about $12 a week for a large commercial property, these actually aren't huge amounts of money over a year.”
Councillor Will Foley said that he had mixed emotions about what had been achieved at the meeting.
“But it is what it is in its form, and so I am most looking forward to our public, our community, our ratepayers.”
“I guess, I have a plea to them to please engage. I know a lot of them felt quite down about the process of the revenue and financing policy, so I hear that sentiment, but I guess please be assured that we do listen, and do take on board, and so I'll be trying my best to get around as much of my constituents as I can, because I know what we all know is, it is tough out there.”
Councillor Jock Mackintosh told the meeting that he wanted to put a more optimistic view on things.
“It's easy to get bogged down in 19.6 percent and so on, and that's significant, but if the flood did anything, it refocused our thinking on what's important.”
“If we do it right, and I hope in a few years’ time when we're having this conversation, we can say we did. But if we are prepared to re-image, re-orientate the way we look at flood resilience, then if we're successful in that, that'll be the first time in this place's history that we have good flood protection. That will be a massive gain to the region if we can do that.”
