Houses on the seafront on the Cape Coast have been battered by heavy swells. Video by Tim Whittaker.
Ratepayers in Napier and Hastings could be charged an extra $30 a year to prepare for coastal erosion and rising seas in the region, in what is understood to be a New Zealand first.
The contributory fund will be considered by a joint council committee, the Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy Committee, at a meeting on Friday.
The idea would see ratepayers contribute $15 a year through their city or district council rates, and $15 a year through their regional council rates to pay for infrastructure needed to protect the Hawke's Bay's coastline.
The fund, which a paper being presented to the committee suggests be collected from 2021, is a way to offset future debt, by collecting money now.
It would raise $1.65 million in the first year, with 55,000 rateable properties under regional council jurisdiction, 30,000 in Hastings and 25,000 in Napier.
It would help protect infrastructure that was in the "public good".
While $15 per council per year is the preferred option being presented to the committee, other options could see ratepayers charged $25 per year per council (a total of $50 when combining district and regional rates), or as little as $5.
The $15 would likely be increased over years two and three of the project, the paper states.
There are various ways the rate could be paid, either a flat rate or a targeted rate.
A flat rate would see every property pay the same amount, regardless of location or land value.
A targeted rate could be applied, so properties more affected by coastal erosion pay more, or alternatively those with higher land values pay more (those in Maraenui and Flaxmere would pay less than those in Havelock North and Napier Hill).
Hawke's Bay ratepayers could soon be paying to protect the coast from erosion. Photo / Peak Video
The paper states this will, ultimately, not be a decision for the committee.
"Ultimately it isn't the place of the joint committee to make this decision as each individual council sets its own rates, but rather to highlight that the decision to collect early has knock-on decisions that each individual council will need to make in due course."
Committee chair and Hawke's Bay regional councillor Peter Beaven said because coastal erosion was an intergenerational issue, it made sense to have an intergenerational fund.
"Even though it might be 20 years before you are doing the work, let's start saving for it now so that we can spread the cost over a much longer period of time."
He said the region had also approached central government, as the fund would also benefit government-owned assets such as railways, schools and state highways.
"The government has indicated they will come and talk to us about this things in the not very distance future, so we can actually pin down the entirety of the model we've discussed."
He said as far as he was aware, the intergenerational fund for dealing with the effects of sea level rise was a first for New Zealand.
Keith Newman from Save the Cape Coast said it was a positive step.
"It's a very forward looking approach.
"This at least means we are not in a reactionary mode, we are thinking about what the future is going to look like and how we are going to pay for it rather than reacting at the last minute."
He said central Government needed to come to the table.
"I think if central government sees that local authorities are able to step up and come up with a plan that is fair and reasonable, and doesn't get to much of a kickback from ratepayers who hopefully understand that this is long term thinking ... I think they will be watching very closely as to how this is received."
