KEY POINTS:
Rodney District Council says it will consider new ways of calculating property rates in light of widespread protest by businesses and landlords over rates rises of up to 400 per cent.
Staff layoffs are predicted by businesses as a likely response to last month's rates bills which are more than 50 per cent higher than last year's for about 250 properties.
A committee of land owners, tenants and the Rodney Economic Development Trust are preparing a "fair rates" case to put to the council.
Mayor Penny Webster said the council would not withdraw this year's rates demands.
But some ratepayers might have their bills reassessed and adjusted if they successfully challenged the accuracy of QV valuations on which the industrial and commercial property rates were based.
She said disgruntled ratepayers had the chance to have their say on changing the rating system when the council reviewed its 10-year plan.
An important debate would be whether to move from basing rates on a property's land value to capital value in the future.
Also up for debate is changing the industrial and commercial differential rate of four to one, which favours residential land. The differential has not changed for three years.
The council is offering drip-feed of rates payments without a penalty.
Mrs Webster said the rates bills came as a shock because of the differential and rates being set on land value. "Land value is very volatile and going to capital value will leave commercial ratepayers a lot better off because it guards against large fluctuations in value."
Capital value is the probable sale price of the land and improvements combined, whereas the land value was assessed as the probable price that would have been paid for just the land as at September 1 last year.
Council finance staff are working on several models to show the effects on rates bills of changing to capital value and altering differentials in future years.
The council's offer is for people to apply to QV for a review of a property's valuation.
If QV finds the value as at September 1 last year was wrongly assessed, the council will reassess the current year's rate based on the corrected valuation. The council will pay for the review. However, it does not expect major changes in rates bills.
QV received 730 objections to the valuation assessments it sent out last year compared to the 44,000 assessments. This was about the same objection ratio as in previous three-yearly revaluations for rating purposes.
QV said a review will not take into account any changes in market prices since September 1 last year.
