KEY POINTS:
Shock rates rises of 30 to 400 per cent have brought Rodney District's businesses and landlords together to demand changes in the way property rates are calculated.
"It's a national disgrace," said Graeme Carter, of Silverdale specialty timber company Herman Pacific.
District council rates on his industrial property for 2008-09 have risen from $26,600 last year to $61,900 - a 132.05 per cent rise compared with 13.2 per cent last year.
"We are calling it The Rodney Rates Rape. Here we are in a tough trading environment, with costs rising 15 per cent a year, and over the hill comes an extreme increase in overheads like this.
"The council expects industrial and commercial properties to pay a differential rate of four to one to ease the burden on residential properties.
"But these sort of rises mean a lot of businesses are just going to move out of the area or reduce staff."
Mr Carter said this went against the council's official vision of creating jobs locally so fewer residents would have to commute.
Half of the company's 60 staff lived in the district yet his and other local employers were being discouraged by council rates.
Mr Carter said he was personally challenging the latest valuation put on the property by Quotable Value. Every three years it reviews the land value of properties for the council to calculate rates.
At Kumeu, Paul Glamuzina said the rates rise varied on his four sites from 250 per cent to 400 per cent.
David Savery, of the Kumeu area ratepayers' association, said people had no indication of "such extreme levels" of rises before the council set them.
It seemed that the rate was based on Quotable Value's unrealistic estimate that industrial land increased by five times in the three-year cycle.
"But while owners benefit from the valuation going up, they are embarrassed about passing that rates increase on.
"They are making a stand because it's their small business tenant who has to fork out for rates on the property."
Mr Savery said the average rate rise of 9.8 per cent for Rodney's rural towns and districts would have been accepted.
But council figures showed unfairness; out of 42,000 ratepayers, 5800 of them had a decrease in rates while a small group of industrial and commercial property owners were hit by huge increases.
Matakana business tenant Barnaby Boss said he had been attracted to Rodney by the thought of "living and working in the same community".
But rates increases of 100 per cent would not attract the new businesses which the district needed to become sustainable.
Neil Barr, who is chairman of the Rodney Economic Development Trust, said the trust and other groups would work with the council to find a fair rating solution for the long term.
Rodney Mayor Penny Webster said: "This is preying on my mind a lot and of course I care.
"We cannot change council rates for the current year but if they want to arrange with the council to drip-feed their payments, they won't be charged a penalty."
