Commercial and residential ratepayers in Tauranga are in line for a rates increase. Photo / File
Commercial and residential ratepayers in Tauranga are in line for a rates increase. Photo / File
Commercial ratepayers in Tauranga are in line for a proposed 39 per cent rates increase in the coming financial year.
It would equate to about an extra $36 per week, Tauranga City Council said in a statement following a public meeting yesterday.
The significant rise is due to the council changing the commercial differential - the proportion of rates commercial ratepayers pay compared to residential ratepayers - from 1:2 to 1:6.
Homeowners are in line for a 12 per cent increase - about $5.46 extra per week - and another $3.70 per week on top of that for the new council-run kerbside rubbish and recycling service.
That's according to the updated working draft of Tauranga City Council's Long-term Plan for 2021-31.
In the statement, the council identified six long-term investment priorities it was considering in the plan.
The council said the city faced major infrastructure challenges including traffic congestion, a housing shortage, and overburdened community facilities.
The council's draft long-term plan proposes significant investments in new infrastructure, as well as fixing and improving old infrastructure.
Overall, the council proposes to invest approximately $3.6 billion over 10 years on infrastructure including roads, pipes, parks and wastewater facilities.
The council was considering several options for funding these investments, including "equitable ways to spread proposed rates increases among households and businesses".
It said the proposed 1.6 differential was still the "lowest of any New Zealand metropolitan city".
"The differential partly recognises that businesses can claim their rates as an expense in their tax deductions and reclaim GST."
The city's commissioners discussed the investment proposals at a public meeting on March 15. They were:
1) Homes – create more space for homes and businesses to ease Tauranga's housing shortage and provide for more than 9000 jobs between the city centre and Tauriko.
2) Transport – help people move around the city more easily and improve connections for local businesses.
3) Community facilities – replace old facilities and build new ones to serve the city's growing population. Examples include parks, pools, reserves, community centres and a library.
4) City centre – revitalise the region's heart, spurring the local economy and encouraging private investment.
5) Resilience – strengthening the city's ability to cope with natural hazards such as tsunamis, floods, landslides, erosion and sea level rise.
6) Delivery – improving the council's resources to provide quality services and ensure the 10-year investment programme can be achieved.
Commission chair Anne Tolley at Tauranga City Council's first public meeting with its four commissioners instead of elected members. Photo / File
Commission chair Anne Tolley said in the statement Tauranga urgently needed better facilities and improved transport connections to cater to the community's needs.
She urged people to get involved when the plan went out for consultation in May.
"This long-term plan is the most important in living memory and the involvement of our community is crucial," she said.
"Our community must have a voice, they must understand the reasons for our decisions, and they must understand how they will be affected."
