Large rate rises proposed for Hurunui
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Hurunui ratepayers can expect hefty rate rises over the next two years.
Average rate rises of 12.41% for this year and 14.14% for next year (2025-26) have been signalled in the Hurunui District Council’s draft long-term plan (LTP).
Speaking at an extraordinary council meeting on Tuesday, chief financial officer Jason Beck said he expected the rates rise to drop below 5% in 2026-27.
He said the proposed rate rises are in line with other councils and reflected the significant cost increases and impacts of regulatory changes the council faced.
The council was also continuing to upgrade its three waters infrastructure over the next two years.
Deputy mayor Vince Daly questioned whether ‘‘rates smoothing’’ could be introduced to spread the impact of rate increases over the next three years.
‘‘A lot of people are on fixed incomes, so I think we need to look at balancing it out instead of having two big rate increases and then going under 5%.’’
Beck said some form of ‘‘rates smoothing’’ was possible by spreading out debt repayments.
‘‘It can be done. It doesn’t move the cost, but it moves the funding of the cost from the rates in year one out to years two and three.’’
Chief executive Hamish Dobbie said he was not in favour of ‘‘rates smoothing’’.
‘‘We’ve done it before and something else always happens and we end up having to push the rates up to cover extra debt.’’
An expenditure of $368.6 million was proposed over the next 10 years, with roading ($160.8m) the biggest expense, followed by three waters ($142.6m) and other capital expenditure including the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa ($65.2m).
Beck said funding social housing was also proving to be a headache.
The initial budget allowed for a 10% yearly rent increase, but this was found to be unsustainable and has been reduced to 5%.
Social housing ownership will be reviewed as part of the LLT consultation document.
‘‘We have a social conscience, so we want to have the provision of social housing, but we need to look at what our long term commitment is,’’ mayor Marie Black said.
The council’s debt level was expected to peak at $142m in 2030-31, before dropping back to $116m in 2033-34.
This equates to a debt to revenue ratio of as high as 161.29%, so is dependant on a change in the Treasury policy which limits it to 125%, Beck said.
The council will meet again on March 26 to adopt the draft LTP for consultation.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Fair play
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Kia ora neighbours. We give away free copies to readers whose recipes are used in our magazine. We're still on the hunt for tomato recipes, so send your family's favourite way to use up your homegrown harvest, to: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. If we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of the mag
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