Letter to the editor: Western Bay of Plenty rates affordability questioned by ratepayer

Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

What planet is our Mayor living on when he says “district council affordability bench-mark of 9% per year’' (Katikati Advertiser June 20).

Please show me a job that is going to give me a 9% increase year on year for the next 10 years, people are already struggling with inflation being higher than wage increases and that is only 7.3% at its worse and are still struggling now it is at 4%.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council rates are already among the highest in the country when compares to the average income of its residents, there are a lot of people in our area whose sole incomes are the pension or benefit and these are not keeping up with inflation little lone the “affordability bench-mark of 9%”.

Have he and the council not been listening to the Reserve Bank saying that what is keeping interest rates high and inflation overall are things like these massive rate increases that council is forcing down residents’ throats?

Drew (surname supplied, withheld)

Ratepayer

Te Puna

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