The Review
Every three years, the Council is required under the Local Government Act to update its Revenue and Finance Policy. Carterton District Council adopted its previous Revenue and Financing Policy in 2021 as part of the 2021-31 Long-Term Plan (LTP) so it’s time for a review. This process is often referred to as a rates review. We want to to hear your feedback before making any final decisions.
- What we are doing
- What aren’t we doing
- What might a rates re-allocation look like?
- Download Statement of Proposal
- What are the key changes?
- How to make a submission
What we are doing
- We’re looking at the fairest way to share rates between different ratepayers [urban vs rural, commercial vs residential, and properties with multiple dwellings].
- We’re proposing changes to address the high allocation of rates to the urban sector, which has been highlighted in comparison to our neighbouring councils.
What aren’t we doing
- This process is not about how much should be collected in rates, or what services are covered by rates.
- We’re not changing the overall amount of rates we are collecting from our ratepayer database. This is done as part of our 2024-2034 Long Term Plan, due for consultation in 2024).
What might a rates re-allocation look like?
A good example of how we are proposing to reallocate rates is the Uniform Annual General Charge(UAGC). At the moment, each property owner or rate paying unit pays one UAGC, regardless of how many dwellings they have on their property. One of the changes we are suggesting is to charge a UAGC to all dwellings on a property/rating unit. This will mean those with only 1 household on their property will end up paying a slightly lower UAGC due to their allocation.
The size of the pie doesn’t change, it’s about how we divide it
It’s not about sharing the load equally between each household, but what’s appropriate, especially in relation to access to services and who can afford them.
Still not sure what this means for you? Download the Statement of Proposal and supporting documents
Our Statement of Proposal includes a whole lot of example properties, so that you can get an idea of what these changes may mean for your property.
For the current Revenue and Finance Policy click here
For the updated draft proposed Revenue and Finance Policy click here
What are the key changes?
Changing the allocation of some activities to General Rates including the UAGC rather than to the UAGC only.
- We believe activities such as parks and reserves, emergency management, governance, community and economic development, and community amenities, should be funded from both General Rates and the UAGC, rather than from the UAGC alone. These activities include parks and reserves, emergency management, governance, community and economic development, and community amenities.
The addition of a targeted rate for Economic development with 50% of the Economic Development costs charged to commercial properties. The balance will remain in the General Rate.
- We are proposing the public/private split of the Economic Development costs be 50% public funded by General Rates, including the UAGC, with the remainder funded through the targeted Economic Development rate to the Commercial/Industrial sector, instead of the cost being spread evenly across all ratepayers. This will mean those who benefit most from this service (commercial) are bearing more of the cost.
Adjusting the Commercial differential from 2 to 1.8
- Rate differentials apply to the general rate and are used to change the proportion of rates that we collect from each group of ratepayers. With the addition of the targeted Economic Development rate, the Council is proposing to adjust the differential from 2 to 1.8.
Adjusting the Rural differential from 0.8 to 1 to match the Urban sector
- Currently, our rural ratepayers pay a smaller General Rate than urban ratepayers. We are looking are sharing this evenly, as the activities covered by this rate are available to everyone. These include libraries, swimming pools, parks and reserves and community amenities.
Changing the public/private split on Water and Wastewater to reflect the changes in the benefit to the community.
- We’re proposing to remove some of this cost from the general rate paid by all ratepayers, and increasing the amount paid by those connected to these services. We are proposing to change the Public/Private split from 10% Public, to a range of 0% to 5% Public benefit. Therefore 0-5% of the costs for Water and Wastewater will be included in the General Rate and 95-100% will be charged to users via a targeted rate.
How to make a submission
Consultation closes Sunday 5 November 2023. To make a submission, you can:
- Complete the online survey at www.surveylegend.com/s/57qm.
- Collect a paper submission form, available from our Council office at 28 Holloway Street, Carterton, or print out the Statement of Proposal and submission form, and:
- return it by email to submissions@cdc.govt.nz
- return it to the office at 28 Holloway St
- post it to P.O. Box 9 Carterton 5743
- Print out the Statement of Proposal and complete the submission form, and return by post or email.