Many Aucklanders saw rising costs in the city as a sign of the times. Photo / Mike Scott
By Finn Blackwell of RNZ
Aucklanders could be facing a double-digit rates hike next year as the city council again looks at how to cover costs.
Earlier this year, Auckland Council put rates up by 7.7 per cent as part of a plan to plug its $325 million budget hole.
Looking ahead, the council had said those rates could nearly double next year from a starting point of 13.75 per cent as it seeks to once again balance the books.
Many Aucklanders saw rising costs in the city as a sign of the times.
Some ratepayers in central Auckland told RNZ a rates hike was the last thing they needed.
One said a 13.75 per cent increase was “outrageous”, while another said they were not getting anything for their money.
A council spokesperson said a rate rise of 13.75 per cent for the next financial year was forecast for its Long Term Plan as a result of decisions made for this year’s annual budget.
People said living in the city was already unaffordable, a unanimous answer by those RNZ spoke to.
This year’s 7.7 per cent rates increase meant the average property owner was paying an extra $253 per year.
A 13.75 per cent increase would be an annual increase up to $487.
Auckland councillor Shane Henderson said the council needed to take a closer look at its spending.
“We need to look at what our expenditure is and then out of it will come a rates figure,” he said.
“[A 13.75 per cent rise] is certainly something that’s in play but I don’t think that’s going to pass and we need to get something across the line that the majority of councillors and the majority of Aucklanders want.”
He said a double-digit rates increase would be tough for residents and businesses already struggling with the cost of living.
But Henderson said it would be months before any rates increase was decided.
“Luckily, we’ve got many months to work on this, to try to knock together a budget that, I think, will be a bit more palatable, we’ve just got to work really hard on it.”
Cuts to council services were not the answer, he said.
“It’s not as simple as cutting your way to prosperity, that’s never really worked,” he said.
Chief executive of the central city business association Viv Beck said any further costs to businesses would hit them hard.
“They’re certainly still noticing the impact of increased costs, high interest rates, and we’re not through this yet,” she said.
“I think any talk about increased costs to business is concerning, particularly for those businesses that are really struggling.”
Auckland Ratepayers Alliance spokesperson Jordan Williams said it was opposed to a double-digit rates hike.
“The big problem that Auckland Council has is the chickens are coming home to roost,” he said.
“All that money that Len Brown and Phil Goff have borrowed now comes with an enormous interest bill attached.”
A spokesperson for mayor Wayne Brown said he had no intention of proposing those types of increases.
They said he wanted things done better, cheaper and faster and had made it clear that everyone needed to work together to stop such rises.
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