Average rates increase of only 1.9% over next 10 years
Average annual rates increase of only 1.9% over next 10
years.
Ratepayers are looking at a projected 1.9% increase annually over the next decade and our external debt reducing to a level of only $4M or less.
This news was delivered to Council this week as it endorsed its Draft Long Term Plan (LTP) consultation document, which will go out for public consultation in March.
This coming year the average rates will increase by 3.6% - but it still won't be what ratepayers in a lot of areas were paying back in 2010 - and will average over the next 10 years to an annual 1.9% increase.
The rates increase for this coming financial year comes after a well-signalled move that $46.6M of unpaid debt relating to our three eastern seaboard wastewater plants is moved from potential future development to existing ratepayers.
"We had no choice but transfer this debt to the current ratepayer as we do not envisage the numbers of new ratepayers arriving to pay it off," says David Hammond, Thames-Coromandel District Council Chief Executive.
"A lot of this can be attributed to recession which hit the Coromandel in 2009 and if this situation changes in the future we will most certainly revisit it. But in the meantime it is the prudent thing to do," he says.
"Meanwhile the reduction of our external debt over the next decade to a level of only $4M or less, ( a reduction of $50M since 2010), and the steady building of infrastructure reserves, puts us in a sound fiscal position so that if there are any exceptional risks or surprises, we can deal with it," says Mayor Glenn Leach." That's just common sense."
Councillors were informed that, average property rates still remain well under 2010 rate levels in many areas of the District. Residential properties in most parts of Coromandel will enjoy rate levels lower than 2010 for five to seven years. The picture is even better for commercial properties whose average rates will remain under 2010 rate levels for more than fifteen years
Here's a few examples:
Back in 2010 if you had a residential property
in Thames with a land value (LV) of $140k your average rates
were $2,243. In our draft LTP you won't be paying more than
that until 2017/2018 (eight years) when the average rate is
$2,297.
Back in 2010 if you had a rural property in
Thames with a LV of $4.2m you paid an average $12,863 in
rates. Under our draft LTP your average rates are still less
than that after 15 years (2024/2025) when it hits an average
of $9,332.
In Coromandel a residential property with a LV
of $225k was paying an average rate of $2,528 back in 2010.
It will only be eight years later that it returns to a
similar rate of $2,560 in 2017/2018.
In Tairua-Pauanui in
2010 a residential property with a LV of $400k was paying an
average rate of $2,730. It returns to an average rate of
$2,788 by 2017/18 (eight years).
The full table for the
Average District Rate can be viewed here.
"Our rates
and debt position is really good news as it tells us the
story of where we've come from," says Mayor Glenn Leach.
"To now only get back to the rate you were paying seven
years ago - at the earliest - is extraordinary in local
government terms. This data proves that what this Council
has implemented is really working."
How have we been able to keep rates down in the past five years?
In 2010-2011 we began implementing reforms which included an organisational restructure as well as streamlining processes and reducing operational costs.
We have renegotiated external contracts and brought more roles in-house, if it can be shown that it can save money and create efficiencies. We have also partnered with other Councils to reduce costs (our Kerbside rubbish/recycling is an example of this) to reduce operational expenditure.
"If we can do a project well with a Corolla rather than the Rolls Royce, that's what we'll do," says Mayor Leach. "Case in point is the Thames Valley Water Project where there was $16M in the previous LTP to look at the upgrade of the water supply for this catchment. Under our community empowerment model - as well as having local input in the decision making - we were able to reduce the project cost down to $5M."
We're also looking at how to manage risk better, with projects like our Below Ground Asset Investigation, which will give us a better understanding of the quality and age of our stormwater, wastewater and water pipe networks, allowing for more robust renewals planning.
We haven't reduced levels of service to do this.
While we've been able to keep rates down over the past five years we've still delivered a high level of service for the facilities we maintain which includes:
445 km of sealed roads and 230km of unsealed
roads
150 bridges
9 water treatment plants and 48
reservoirs
538 km of water pipeline
10 wastewater
treatment plants
128 wastewater pump stations and 6,382
wastewater manholes
13 community halls and centres
2
airfields
1 swimming pool
21 cemeteries
5 wharves
and 9 all tide boat ramps
37 playgrounds
83 public
toilets
In the past 12 months we have:
Reduced the
amount of waste going to landfill from 516kg to 463kg per
rating unit
Processed 1285 Land Information Memorandum
requests.
Completed a new pontoon and boat ramp
extensions at Whitianga and Whangamata.
Carried out 358
inspections on the 286 registered food premises
Received
211 new dwelling consents and on average processed these in
just over 11 days
Held three civil defence
exercises
Received 995 building consent
applications
We've also worked through a number of
projects including
Introducing our community empowerment,
giving more power back to locals. to make better decisions
for locals.
Reviewing our District Plan (currently going
through hearings and deliberations).
Implementing a new
Freedom Camping Bylaw.
Restructuring Destination
Coromandel.
Resolving the health and safety issues at
Moanataiari
Rolling out our Kerbside rubbish and
recycling service
Completing Hauraki Rail Trail Stage 1
(in partnership with Hauraki District
Council).
Introducing positive ageing and disability
strategies.
Implementing an Economic Development
Strategy.
Implementing a Major Events Fund.
Dealing
with Thames Valley Water.
Dealing with the Mercury Bay
Multi-Sport Park development overspend.
Having a strategy
prepared for the possibility of Local Government
Reforms
Reviewing our Development Contributions Policy
and stimulating growth..
Why the rates increase in this
coming financial year?
We are dealing with a $46.6M debt relating to the Eastern Seaboard Sewerage Schemes which were completed in 2009 and cost $93M.
It was the belief of council in the early 2000s that future developers would pay at least 66% of that cost, and that growth would take off in the Coromandel at a fast rate. That hasn't happened, the development didn't come and instead we were all hit by the recession. We now have an obligation to address the issue. This accounts for 1.8% of the 2015/16 rates increase.
ends