What's fair in this for Taupo Bay?

The Far North District Council's plan for a 'fairer' rating system, aimed more towards users paying, was always going to produce winners and losers, but Taupo Bay is feeling properly shafted.

Taupo Bay Progressive Association spokesman Brian Carter said there was nothing close to fair about the proposal as far as his tiny community was concerned.

The council, in proposing to increase land value rates and reduce the uniform annual charge, was treating Taupo Bay like a cash cow, he said. Some would see their rates rise by more than 25 per cent, to more than $6000 a year (including the NRC rate).

If the community had been "unlucky enough" to be burdened with sewerage and water charges as well some would be well over $8000.

"Taking a sceptical view, this concept would appear to be a cunning scheme to get the majority on-side with rate reductions while socking it to the minority of high-value property owners," Mr Carter said.

Those living in 'poorer' communities probably qualified for the rates rebate, so would be winning twice if their rates fell.

"People here in Taupo Bay bought land in 1983 for $90,000 but are now being rated on $900,000 as rich people," he added.

"The permanent residents are not all rich. Many who bought in the 1970s-80s have come here to retire, but one has to wonder how much longer they can sustain the burden with rate hikes like these."

Taupo Bay comprised 162 sections, 45 of them beachfront. Eighty-eight per cent of the houses were holiday homes, whose owners made very little use of council services or facilities.

The majority of the 31 permanent residents were retired.

The community which, under the current proposal, would pay $87,000 more in rates than the current year, had three roads (not counting Taupo Bay Road, which runs off SH10) comprising a total of 1.6 kilometres, three reserves and one playground and toilet block.

It did not have the usual urban facilities such as a community centre, library, sports complex/fields, swimming pool, skate park, cemetery, pensioner housing, footpaths, kerbing, sewerage or water.

The community had not been slow to stump up with cash in the past, however. In the late 1980s it had found around $60,000 for the sealing of Taupo Bay Road hill (so, Mr Carter said, residents could get out in the winter without a bulldozer).

It had found half the cost ($17,000) for the children's playground (Mr Carter noting that Kaeo, Cooper's Beach and Awanui had paid nothing for theirs), it had put $30,000 towards its first response/fire station and civil defence centre, built its boat ramp (after two built by the council washed away), and paid half the cost of steps to the beach.

What Taupo Bay wanted now was the status quo, or at least delayed implementation of differentials.

"We also want 340 metres of the Taupo Bay Road hill fixed once and for all, and tidy the footpaths - we should at least have roads equivalent to the quality of Kaitaia and Kerikeri," Mr Carter added.

"And make your perceptions a reality, that is benefits and fairness, not rich versus poor or few versus more."