Auckland Regional Council 2003/04 Annual Plan adopted

23 June 2003

The ARC’s 2003/04 Annual Plan was adopted today at a Special Council meeting.

Some changes have been made as a result of the Annual Plan consultation process -

1. The boundaries of the Passenger Transport Rateable Area have been changed to exclude Waiuku and Waiheke. This means that ratepayers in these areas will not pay the ARC’s Passenger Transport Network Rate or Passenger Transport Services Rate.

2. A 50% remission policy for community and sports groups has been introduced.

3. The conditions surrounding postponements have been changed, to enable more people in financial hardship to apply for a postponement on their rates bill.

ARC Chair Gwen Bull says, "I wish to thank the region’s residents for being proactive and submitting on issues about which they have strong feelings. That is what the Annual Plan Hearing is about, giving the ratepayers a voice.”

The overall rate requirement for 2003/04 will be $104 million. This is a 34% increase over the rate requirement for 2002/03. The majority of this increased rate requirement - $20.4 million - is linked to increased spend to provide public transport solutions.

The ARC Councillors discussed the transport targeted rates policies, and intend to undertake further work to develop the rating system for public transport. The ARC will undertake a complete review of the Passenger Transport rating policy over the next 12 months to determine whether this is the best means of determining rates for the provision of passenger transport services across the region.

ENDS

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