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About 90 per cent of submitters have opposed a controversial plan by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council to switch from land value (LV) to capital value (CV) to calculate its rates, which will see homeowners pay more and farmers and forestry owners pay less.
The proposal attracted 541 submissions during the consultation period which has now concluded.
The most significant part of the rates shake-up is to switch from LV to CV to calculate each property’s share of regional council rates.
A total of 477 submitters were against that switch (or 88 per cent) while 34 submitters were in support (6 per cent).
Thirty submitters left that section blank or wrote “don’t know”.
Feedback was also provided on other parts of the proposal, such as moving some targeted rates to the general rate - meaning everyone will pay for some services (like pest control) instead of a select few - and simplifying different types of rates.
The feedback will help councillors with their decision-making on the controversial plans including at a meeting set for the end of this month.
If adopted, the proposal will not result in the council collecting more rates overall but will change the proportion of rates each property pays.
Farms and forestry blocks will be among the big winners and homeowners and plenty of growers will be among the losers.
Some farms and forestry blocks will save more than $1000 on their annual rates bill, while some homeowners will pay over $200 more on their regional council rates.
On average, most property owners will have smaller increases or decreases in their rates.
Some submitters chose to share their concerns in person during a regional council meeting this week.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council chairwoman Hinewai Ormsby is supportive of the plans. Photo / NZME
Former Tukituki MP Anna Lorck spoke at the meeting and said “the message is very, very clear” that submitters opposed the switch to CV.
“You have been sent a really strong mandate from ratepayers that the switch from land value to capital value is not supported,” she said.
“There is no reason to switch. It is a waste of time. There are so many other things that are more important right now.”
She said adding further costs on homeowners was a major issue when there was already a shortage of affordable housing.
Capital value considers the value of both the land and the improvements on a property, such as buildings, rather than the value of the land only.
HBRC chairwoman Hinewai Ormsby has previously stated CV was “more equitable, fairer and stable because those with more capital have more productive earning capacity”.
The likes of farms would experience reduced rates because they do not have much capital on their land.
Federated Farmers Hawke’s Bay president Jim Galloway spoke in support of the proposal.
“We think capital value aligns more with [council] services and is more of a common practice, that has been found by other councils around New Zealand to be more equitable.”
Pensioner Elma Raw opposed the proposal citing the impact it would have on struggling home and unit owners.
“To increase costs on people with very limited fixed incomes is very, very difficult,” she said.
“It is not just one cost because, as you are aware, everything is going up.”
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
