A significant blunder in New Plymouth’s annual plan, described as a ‘typo’, could see ratepayers pay more than $100 this year than initially indicated.

Sam Warren, Local Government Campaigns Manager for the Taxpayers’ Union, said:“It’s hard to understate how much of a cock-up this is. Ratepayers deserve far better attention to detail as they face even higher rates than already forced on them.”

“Released earlier this week, the Rates Dashboard showed an average increase this year of 8.39 percent across the country for the year. New Plymouth’s mistake could push that average up to 8.79 percent, depending on how the council reacts.”

“Rather than add costs on top of their already high rates, Council needs to do right by their ratepayers and search for the savings in the budget. How can the council expect ratepayers to budget when they can't do it themselves?"

"This whole bungle is why we need to Cap Rates Now and get Councils focused on the bottom line. More than 29,000 Kiwis have signed the petition, demanding big change in how our councils are run."

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