Show us the money

EXEMPT: Defence land, such as Landguard Bluff

Council wants Crown to pay rates

The Wanganui District Council wants to collect rates on Crown land and other exempted properties - and reckons it could pick up an extra $1.75 million a year.

For years Crown land, which includes areas such as conservation estates, state schools, defence force land and other sites, has been exempt from paying rates.

At this week's council meeting, deputy mayor Hamish McDouall got support to challenge the exemption, claiming it was unfair on local bodies.

"For the last 10 to 15 years, successive governments have put more costs back on to local authorities when all this time the Crown itself has been paying only minimal amounts in terms of rates," he said.

"There are vast tracts of inner-city blocks where the Government pays nothing back to council."

Attempts have been made before to change this anomaly - and they have failed. But the Wanganui council is giving it another go with a remit to next week's zone 3 local authorities meeting in the city.

Council finance manager Julian Harkness estimates Crown land and other exempt properties account for about 4.3 per cent of the district capital value, yet contribute a mere 0.7 per cent in rates to council. If those properties were rated as other properties were, it would recoup at least $1.75 million each year.

"And for other local authority areas like the West Coast and Northland, where there are large tracts of conservation land, the rates recovery will be even more significant," Mr Harkness said.

Mr McDouall said there was a need for a more fair and equitable process.

"This bid may not be successful but it's a start. We're running a pretty skinny operation but central government is not being a good financial citizen."

Rating Crown land has been on and off agendas for several years now.

In September 1998, then Minister of Local Government Tony Ryall said the Crown's rates exemption could be scrapped as a result of a review. That review included a re-evaluation of the Government's current exemption from paying rates but, despite the review, nothing changed. In its 2014 election manifesto, Local Government New Zealand asked the incoming Government to pay rates, or make payments in lieu of rates. That, too, has yet to gain traction.