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Rates bill in Western Bay of Plenty NZ's most expensive

Rates bill in Western Bay of Plenty NZ's most expensive - $1,000 per year more than national average

22 AUGUST 2017 - The average residential rates of Western Bay of Plenty District Council are the highest in New Zealand, according to Ratepayers' Report, the Taxpayers' Union's2017 local government league tables, published today at www.ratepayersreport.nz.

At $3,234 per year, Western Bay of Plenty ratepayers pay on average nearly a thousand dollars more than the national average of $2,251 per year. The amount is almost double that of New Zealand's least expensive, Mackenzie District Council.

Jordan Williams, Executive Director of the Taxpayers' Union, says, "Only two Councils in Bay of Plenty charge an average residential rates bill below the national average – Opotiki District and Kawerau District."

"According to the Council’s financial statements, staff costs per ratepayer in Opotiki are the highest in the region, at $1,473. This shows that a cheap rates bill at home doesn’t always equate to an efficient Council, which often find other ways to reach into resident’s pockets."

"Tauranga City Council has the lowest staff costs per ratepayer in the region at $895, even though its Councillors receive on average almost $15,000 more than the Kawerau District Mayor.”

"However, when compared to other Metropolitan Councis,Tauranga City Council's below average assets and higher than average debts are a concern," according to Mr Williams.

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"Tauranga City Council refused to respond when our researcher asked if any lawyers or accountants sit on its Audit and Risk committee. It said that 'this is not information that the Council holds'. If a Council doesn’t know something as fundamental as the composition of its own Audit Committee, how can ratepayers be assured that decisions to spend their hard-earned money are subject to proper oversight?”

“Maybe they don’t know, or maybe they just don’t care much for transparency. Either way local ratepayers deserve a lot better from Mayor Greg Brownless and his Councillors."

"Ratepayers' Report is available online and free of charge so all East Coast ratepayers can judge for themselves the performance of their local town hall."

Ratepayers’ Report available at www.ratepayersreport.nz

Note: All references to rates in the above comments, refer to residential rates.

Other findings relating to Bay of Plenty/Gisborne:

• Opotiki and Gisborne District Council has the lowest proportion of staff earning over $100,000 in East Coast regions, with 7% of the staff at each receiving such remuneration. This compares to 13% of staff in Tauranga City and 12% in Rotorua Lakes.

• Average residential rates across Bay of Plenty/Gisborne are $2,391.

• Residents of Opotiki District face an average residential rates bill of $1,804, the most affordable in the region, while Western Bay of Plenty ratepayers pay the most in New Zealand, $3,234.

• Councils considered in this comparison are: Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Rotorua Lakes District Council, Whakatane District Council, Opotiki District Council, Kawerau District Council, Gisborne District, and Tauranga City Council.

Q & A

What is Ratepayers’ Report?

Ratepayers’ Report is interactive local government league tables covering financial position, performance, and governance information for all of New Zealand’s territorial authorities (excluding the Chatham Islands).

What is the purpose of Ratepayers’ Report?

Ratepayers' Report provides accountability and transparency to New Zealand ratepayers by allowing anyone to compare their local territorial authority with others around the country.

Where was the data sourced?

The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union working with its sister group, the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance, compiled the data in Ratepayers' Report after reviewing each council's annual report for the year ending June 30, 2016.

Other figures represent the most up to date figures available and were mostly obtained under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

The data has been sent to each individual authority for their review and error checking prior to public launch.

Population data is from Statistics New Zealand.

Where did the group finance figures come from?

They are taken from each Council's annual report. They include council figures, plus any subsidiary council controlled organisations.

Which councils are assessed in Ratepayers' Report?

Of New Zealand's 67 territorial authorities, 66 are examined in Ratepayers' Report. That includes all city, district, and unitary councils, with the exclusion of Chatham Islands Territory Council (due to concerns surrounding that Council's workload pressure and unique position). In future iterations of Ratepayers' Report, we plan to incorporate regional councils into the analysis.

Is this the first Ratepayers' Report?

No. Ratepayers' Report was first published in 2014 jointly by the Taxpayers' Union and Fairfax Media.

How are the councils (territorial authorities) grouped?

Unitary authorities – the 5 territorial authorities which also carry out the functions of a regional authority are grouped.

Metropolitan – the 5 large councils with a population of over 120,000.

City – 6 smaller metropolitan councils with populations between 40,000 and 120,000.

Provincial – the largest group, 27 non-metropolitan councils with a population over 20,000.

Rural – 23 councils with populations less than 20,000.

How was the average residential rate calculated?

Calculating an 'apples to apples' figure for residential rates is difficult because councils use various mixes of rates, levies, and user charges. Our approach is based on work by Napier City Council to find an average residential rate. The methodology councils were asked to use to calculate the figures disclosed in Ratepayers' Report is available here, www.taxpayers.org.nz/rp_methodology.

While we think this approach is useful and fair, the average residential rates figure should be a guide only. It does not, for example, factor in councils' reliance on commercial rates. It also puts unitary authorities at a disadvantage. Unitary authorities (Auckland Council, Nelson City Council, Gisborne, Tasman, and Marlborough District Councils, and the Chatham Islands Council) perform the functions of a regional council and therefore can be expected to have higher rates than other territorial authorities.

Were councils consulted in the process?

Yes. Every council was sent a draft version of their respective page to review.


ENDS


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