Christchurch City Council staff have not submitted a zero per cent rates rise as a preferred option for Friday’s meeting, where councillors will be tasked with signing off this year’s draft Annual Plan before it goes out for public feedback.
Staff state the $122 million in savings needed to achieve no rise in rates would have “severe impacts” on council services and lead to an “unprecedented level of staff redundancy.”
A rates increase of 3.5 per cent has been submitted as the most preferred option from staff, with rises of 5.5 per cent and 4.65 per cent submitted as others.
City councillor Sam MacDonald, who alongside five other councillors, has been pushing for a zero per cent rates increase since the Covid-19 pandemic began to weigh down on the city, found this “hugely frustrating.”
“I think if you look at the spending programme there are definitely changes that could have been made that would have definitely got us to zero.”
He alluded to the Waimakariri District Council managing to reduce its rates rise to 1.5 per cent after initially proposing a four per cent increase before the Covid-19 crisis began to hit the district.
City councillor Sara Templeton said it was clear a zero per cent rates rise would not be a favourable outcome for the city.
“The information we have been provided shows that a zero per cent increase would not be favourable for our communities. For the sake of a $1.50 a week per household saving, it would have an enormous impact on the council which would be untenable,” she said.
She said cutting council services would ignore the feedback from residents calling for improved services.
The most recent general residents’ survey programme showed 39 per cent of respondents were unhappy with services provided, with roading and water supply being key areas of contention. Whereas rates increases were only mentioned in two per cent of overall comments.
The city council is now proposing to reduce its operational expenditure by $22.7 million to $494.7 million. The capital programme is also looking to be reduced by $168.2 million by delaying certain works. The new draft Annual Plan also includes a decrease in borrowing to $217.8 million a reduction of $29.7 million.
The city council originally submitted a draft Annual Plan in February which proposed a rates increase of 4.65 per cent. However, it decided to go back to the drawing board in order to account for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the council’s finances.
After city councillors sign off on the draft Annual Plan tomorrow it will go out for public consultation from June 12 to June 29. It will then have to be adopted by the city council on July 30.
Doubt was first cast over the viability of a zero per cent rates rise for the city council when chief executive Dawn Baxendale said it would be “very unrealistic to achieve” in a public meeting earlier this month.
