Lowest rates increases in 10 years proposed

24 February 2015

The lowest rates increases in more than a decade are being proposed in Taupo District Council's Long Term Plan alongside a strategy to have more money in the bank than what is owed by 2025.

The Council today adopted the consultation document for its 2015-2025 plan that will be released for the public to have their say from Monday. The proposed average rates increases for the 10 years range between 2.21 and 2.73 per cent each year. This relates directly to the overall increase in the council's rates revenue and is not necessarily what will be reflected in individual rates notices.

A build-up of $40 million in cash reserves is also projected by 2025. These funds will be needed in future years to fund the renewal of infrastructure assets as they become due for replacement.

Mayor David Trewavas said the council had heard the calls for lower rates increases and debt to be repaid and the proposed plans for the next 10 years were in response to those.

There were some tough decisions made by the previous council in the last long term plan and that has helped us get to a sound financial position where we can limit rates increases while achieving our goals and maintaining the services we provide to our community, he said.

Keeping rates and debt affordable was a key strand of the council's Long Term District Strategy. The other key strands were ensuring the district remains a great place to live, promoting economic development, maintaining the quality infrastructure we have and protecting water resources and using them wisely.

Mr Trewavas said one of the key projects being proposed was to steadily reduce the amount of income from the council's $54 million TEL fund currently applied to rates, and use it to establish a fund to be used for community services and projects.

We have spent the best part of 18 months reviewing our policies and activities and have made a raft of decisions we think are in the best interest of the district, he said.

We also received some valuable feedback from the community when we asked some specific questions in September and that was very helpful in confirming our proposed plans, he said.

Now we want the community to tell us the parts they support and those they don't so we can make informed decisions about what if anything needs to change before we adopt the plan in June.

The consultation period runs from Monday, March 2 until Tuesday, April 7. The consultation document and supporting information will be available at www.taupo.govt.nz.

ENDS

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lisa Nairne Communications Manager 07 376 0762 027 839 8410

Taupo District Council

www.taupo.govt.nz