The Local Body Rates Heist thread

[nztx]

All across the Land, Local Body sacred cows have proliferated under the watch of
Labour's Clark Government and subsequently


Lets look at the extent of the Rip-A-Rate and vast increases coming through from
these sacred and in some instances inefficient cows with their straws out attached
to ratepayer pockets.. on a myriad of excuses intent on sucking out more hard earned
than they did in previous 12 months' sittings playing the same games..


These curious beasties have their own unique form of elected representation,
which in many instances usually sees a band of bods duly elected who in most
cases achieve very little change for their durations, with management of the
empire delegated to another raft of papershufflers & bureaucrats resident deep
in the guts of the beastie beyond any form of touch

[nztx]

WAIKATO:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/hamilt...HKVUS3BXFSETA/


Hamilton City Council to propose $6.3b spend, ‘dramatic’ rates rises over 10 years

At its next full meeting, Hamilton City Council will propose a budget of $6.3 billion to keep the city running for the next 10 years.

To “balance the books”, the council said it would need to increase rates by an average of 19.9 per cent - $11 per week - in the next financial year.

This would be followed by an average 15.5 per cent in rates rises each financial year to 2029, a 9 per cent increase in 2029/30 and 5 per cent rates rises each year after that to 2034.

Meanwhile, properties with a pool are in for an even higher targeted rates rise next financial year: an increase of 22.3 per cent.

The council’s billion-dollar budget, and the proposed rates increases, were revealed in a draft 2024-34 Long Term Plan consultation document attached to Thursday’s full council meeting agenda, where elected members will vote to approve the document and its “underlying information”.

According to the draft consultation document, “rates have not kept up” with increasing costs and the council has been “using the city’s mortgage” to build new roads, buy land for community assets, invest in residential and industrial land and roll out free rubbish and recycling collection services.

You poor unfortunate sods up in the Waikato - even more so if you have one of those deep holes in the ground out back filled with water for an occasional dip - you going to really attract extra extraction attention from your friendly local pocket lightening Raters & Rippers .. "To Balance the Books"

[Joshuatree]

Blame on the Cannibal Collective robbing Mary to pay Paul.Water infra the big one,councils will have to carry the debt.Bring back Three Waters ,with a few tweaks.

[Daytr]

The biggest issue is lack of Central Government . NZ has one of the lowest rates in the OECD of redistribution of Central Government revenue to regional government. Last I looked it was around 11%, it used to be over 18%.

In the meantime Central Government keeps asking Councils to perform more tasks without additional funding. It's a cunning ploy by Wellington as it forces Councils to raise rates, instead of Central Government raising taxes.

Central Government could at least give Councils back the GST collected on rates.

[nztx]

The biggest issue is lack of Central Government . NZ has one of the lowest rates in the OECD of redistribution of Central Government revenue to regional government. Last I looked it was around 11%, it used to be over 18%.

In the meantime Central Government keeps asking Councils to perform more tasks without additional funding. It's a cunning ploy by Wellington as it forces Councils to raise rates, instead of Central Government raising taxes.

Central Government could at least give Councils back the GST collected on rates.

they sound like a prosperous not so little huddle as it is sucking in the billions out of pockets of the hardworking,, no increase too large to hit the victims even harder for any excuse


And you want more of the bureaucratic bullcr#p & empire building on a local level all delivering their own spin on localised incompetence & Fk-ups ilike have been seen in recent times up & down the land ?

Just check out all the cyclone excuses covering for non response & other failures etc etc in some areas

Probably worthy of short leashes to keep them in order and headed in the right direction

[iceman]

Blame on the Cannibal Collective robbing Mary to pay Paul.Water infra the big one,councils will have to carry the debt.Bring back Three Waters ,with a few tweaks.

Here in Nelson our rates are going up on average 7.2%. A chunk of that is for 3-waters infrastructure expenditure, which by the way is in good condition, but it has always been a significant part of Council's expenditure. After all it is their core job. Most of the rates increase is due to hugely increased interest rates bill on the NCC debt, thanks to our stubborn and high inflation after the last few years crazy Government wasteful expenditure. Some of it is also due to the NCC's decision to continue with careful community investment rather than a big austerity budget.
None of it has anything to do with the Coalition Government.

[Daytr]

they sound like a prosperous not so little huddle as it is sucking in the billions out of pockets of the hardworking,, no increase too large to hit the victims even harder for any excuse


And you want more of the bureaucratic bullcr#p & empire building on a local level all delivering their own spin on localised incompetence & Fk-ups ilike have been seen in recent times up & down the land ?

Just check out all the cyclone excuses covering for non response & other failures etc etc in some areas

Probably worthy of short leashes to keep them in order and headed in the right direction

So are you advocating for centralization?
Sounds like three waters would be right up your alley?
Local councils could improve their efficiency dramatically no doubt. However from what I see much of their bureaucracy is due to conforming to statutory requirements set by Central Government. The amount of consulting they have to perform just to get anything done is ridiculous.

Also the amount of time & effort Councils have to spend on getting funding for projects or maintaining existing infrastructure is also ridiculous. Councils should have sufficient funding to operate without having to beg for it.

[Ricky-bobby]

Here in Nelson our rates are going up on average 7.2%. A chunk of that is for 3-waters infrastructure expenditure, which by the way is in good condition, but it has always been a significant part of Council's expenditure. After all it is their core job. Most of the rates increase is due to hugely increased interest rates bill on the NCC debt, thanks to our stubborn and high inflation after the last few years crazy Government wasteful expenditure. Some of it is also due to the NCC's decision to continue with careful community investment rather than a big austerity budget.
None of it has anything to do with the Coalition Government.

Same here in good old Blenheim… our water infrastructure is pretty good. Again we were lumped with 3 waters stuff when ours is in good shape, such a waste of money. Bit jealous of ur shiny new dam tho!! Now that was a good investment.

[iceman]

Same here in good old Blenheim… our water infrastructure is pretty good. Again we were lumped with 3 waters stuff when ours is in good shape, such a waste of money. Bit jealous of ur shiny new dam tho!! Now that was a good investment.

Labour wanted to dump us into 3 Waters with Wellington to pay for their pathetic infrastructure management. Good riddance.
You’re not wrong about the Waimea Dam. It’s a game changer for wineries (and everyone else) around the Tasman . I hope the Government will make dam building around the country, (Otago, Canterbury, Marlborough, southern Hawkes Bay, Gisborne for example) part of their fast track projects. It’s ridiculous that we as an agricultural country, go through regular droughts while we let 85% of our rain water flow out to sea.

[nztx]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3502...ever-rate-rise

Napier ratepayers face highest ever rate rise

Napier ratepayers are looking at the highest ever proposed rates rise, of 23.7%, due in large part to the need to improve ageing infrastructure.

Napier City councillors on Thursday signed off on consulting on the proposed increase, which Mayor Kirsten Wise noted was originally going to be 43%.

Holy $h*t -- Wise Woman say "Shove that in your Art Deco pipes and suck it up like you Napier
peasants are really enjoying getting a right royal Local Body beating & fleecing"


But it could have been a whole lot worse .. like a jaw stopping Arty Farty 43% instead


bound to be back for the rest and then a further large increment ontop next year


These Rate & fee gathering Local Body cretins don't go away for long do they ?


So why hasn't the infrastructure been improved updated previously already ?
The Council been asleep all this time hoping the issue would go away or solve itself
instead of morphing into something larger & more expensive ?

Sounds like there has been some really hopeless infrastructure management & planning going on across many Local Bodies for some time to have not provided for this over remaining life of the assets .. Not Brain Science is it - but commonsense ..

So borrowing levels don't look too bad for NCC - why aren't they borrowing instead - spreading the p&i cost forward over projected economic life, like most every other Council ? Too hard, Too hopeless or what ?


At this rate Napier are going with their Increases, everythink will be in grave danger of being made extinct not only on the foreshore but all round Mayor Wises' little fifedom of large local body butterfly nets hard at work capturing visible signs of life & prosperity all around, in record time


Who knows - if NCC get too rates hungry with their extortionate increases, there might be no-one or very few who want or can afford to even be around Wises' little enclave near the Hill at the end of the Spit


When are the next Local Body elections again to cleanse the Napier empire of this extortionate unfriendly pocket-plundering mob of Local Govt bureaucrats, bleeding the fifedom dry ?


For those who have suddenly developed a Rates allergy worse than than the local sea spray in an economic storm while fenced in on the Hill & Spit - don't tell anyone but there might be a more economic solution just down the road a safe distance from the NCC hairy arm & plumes of sea spray - where the annual fare isn't quite at the NCC grand impost of both arms & three legs and rapidly advancing on a shoulder every year