The Waitaki District Council has settled on a 3.6% increase in its overall rates take for next financial year and has also softened the impact of some controversial changes it proposed in the way it collected money from ratepayers.
After a day and a-half of debate on its 2009-19 long-term council community plan (LTCCP), which also sets the budget and rates for next financial year, the council yesterday made some changes which meant its draft rates rise of 3.3% increased to 3.6%.
The council in its draft LTCCP proposed some major changes to the way it was proposing to gather rates which attracted strong opposition in public submissions.
The biggest change in rating it proposed was to reallocate the way the uniform annual general charge (UAGC) was changed to capture properties with one title but which had more than one house, business or tenant.
That would have had a major effect on some ratepayers who had not paid UAGC in the past, for example farms with more than one house, camps with holiday homes and even the council's own community housing properties.
The change to the UAGC system had been criticised by people who had made submissions, which highlighted anomalies.
As a result of changes now made by the council, holiday homes at Gemmells Crossing (next to the Kakanui River) and Moeraki Kaik will pay a 25% UAGC.
Holiday homes at the Waitaki Bridge Park and Waitaki Kaik (next to the Waitaki River) will pay a 50% UAGC.
The way the UAGC will be paid by commercial premises with more than one tenant and one bedroom dwellings were also altered.
Another proposal was extending the central Oamaru business rating district. The proposal was to extend that north and south along State Highway 1 to capture more business properties and impose a business rate on them.
The council decided it would still extend the business rating district, but those outside central Oamaru would be charged 50% of the rate paid by those in central Oamaru.
The council is still proposing a new tourism rate in 2011-12, but plans a lot more consultation to come up with a system that is acceptable.
That will include consulting with the Waitaki Tourism Association and other interested parties on the scope, cost and need for a targeted tourism rate prior to implementation.
The council added some projects, but also cut other expenditure, including reducing the overall wages and salary budget by $105,000.
Some additional expenditure was funded by a record dividend paid to the council by Whitestone Contracting Ltd, which it owns. The council spent almost $200,000 - equivalent to almost a 1% rate rise - of the $596,750 it had available from the dividend.
Waitaki rates
• 2009-10 overall rates rise: 3.6%.
• Ratepayers: 12,005.
• 41% of ratepayers will have a decrease.
• 59% of ratepayers will have an increase.
• 2009-10 total rates: $23.765 million.
• This year's total rates: $22.933 million.
