Hastings District resident Stacey Smith wants yellow-stickered homes, like her own, left unlivable after Cyclone Gabrielle to be treated equitably when it comes to rates relief. Photo / Stacey Smith.
Hastings District resident Stacey Smith wants yellow-stickered homes, like her own, left unlivable after Cyclone Gabrielle to be treated equitably when it comes to rates relief. Photo / Stacey Smith.
Stacey Smith’s family home was left uninhabitable after Cyclone Gabrielle but she is still expected to eventually pay at least one instalment of her 2023 rates to Hastings District Council.
Hastings District Council is promising to announce changes to its rates remission approach soon which could improve address inequities in the system.
Smith’s house on Korokipo Rd was yellow stickered, meaning it was safe to enter with some restrictions, but her family would not be able to return to live there for some time.
She applied to Hastings District Council for rates relief about two weeks ago and found that, while she could get relief for one instalment, the next instalment this year would only be postponed.
She said she was told by a council staff member that if her house was red-stickered, both of the next two rates instalments this year would be remitted.
“You don’t mind paying rates, but this is more around fair treatment and the way they categorise it around access to your house and not around livability,” Smith said.
“We can’t live there [at home] and it is pretty much the same for a number of other areas and yellow stickered houses too.”
A Hastings District spokesperson said HDC’s current policy for rates remission was for red stickered properties to be automatically remitted for their third and fourth instalments and for yellow stickered properties to make an application for rates remission for only the fourth instalment, and they would be eligible if the sticker is on the main dwelling/building on the property.
Payment can be postponed, but no later than June 30, 2025.
“Council is acknowledging the current inequities created by the current approach and the differences between yellow are red stickered properties and will be making a change to this rates remission approach which will be communicated to the public next week,” the spokesperson said on Friday.
According to HDC, 92 red stickered properties have had an automatic remission applied in the Hastings District and HDC has received 250 applications to date.
“One-hundred and twenty-five of these applications have been processed and remissions granted. Ninty-five applications [are] still to be processed but [we] envisage all these being granted remission. Thirty applications [were] received from non-stickered properties and we are currently working with the Building Recovery team on these,” the spokesperson said.
There are 695 properties yellow stickered in the Hastings District.
Stickers determine the accessibility of a property, not livability, but yellow stickered properties in Hastings District must make an application for rates remission for their fourth instalment, while red stickered properties get their next two instalments automatically remitted. Photo / NZME
A Napier City Council spokeswoman said NCC’s rates team data showed four red-stickered properties received an automatic remission for four of four instalments over the 2022/23 period and 57 yellow-stickered properties received approved remission for two of four instalments over the 2022/23 period.
The spokeswoman said NCC was still receiving applications.
“In total Napier has approx 115 yellow placard properties. Six applications have been declined as property owners were evacuated or had water on their section but were not displaced,” the spokeswoman said.
Doug Tate, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council chief executive, said his council currently offered rates postponements for ratepayers facing hardship following Cyclone Gabrielle and waived late payment penalties for stickered homes under their existing policy.
“However, council acknowledges that there is still untold and emerging need, particularly in the rural sector,” Tate said.
“At its meeting on April 20, council will be considering its policy position on rating relief relative to the financial reality the district is facing as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle.”
Wairoa District Council chief executive Kitea Tipuna said Wairoa District Council does not currently have a Rates Remission Policy which can cover remissions on rates for properties affected by a natural disaster.
“We want to be able to assist ratepayers who are experiencing extreme financial hardship and we are exploring options of what that support could look like,” he said.
“However, we also have to balance these options against the long-term sustainability of our district as the increased costs relating to our response and recovery have been, and continue to be, significant.”
Wairoa District Council’s rates department has received four inquiries from ratepayers regarding a rates remission.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council corporate services general manager Susie Young said they had received no formal applications for remission of rates.
“Our invoices are issued annually in August. We invite and encourage those ratepayers who are experiencing financial hardship as a result of the cyclone, to contact our rates team, for a confidential discussion about how we can assist them,” Young said.
