By Lauren Crimp of RNZ
Napier homeowners are facing a rates hike of almost 12 per cent, in part to help fund the council’s Cyclone Gabrielle recovery efforts.
The rise follows a 9.8 per cent jump last year, which was the biggest in 20 years.
Napier City Council is to consider an 11.7 per cent increase from 1 July at its meeting on Thursday.
The meeting’s agenda showed this would be made up of a 9.7 per cent increase - a cap that had already been set out in the long term plan - and a new 2 percent “disaster recovery rate”, designed to fund a $1.5 million Cyclone Gabrielle recovery budget in the 2023/24 annual plan.