The Napier City Council has approved its largest rates hike in 20 years - a 9.8 percent average increase per property over the coming year.
At a meeting this morning, councillors reluctantly agreed to approve the increase but some said it would not be sustainable.
Councillors are blaming higher construction costs and central government regulatory standards for the stress on its budget. Photo: 123rf
"We are faced with the effect of inflation and significant increases in insurance and other fixed costs," mayor Kirsten Wise said.
Kirsten Wise Photo: Supplied / Napier City Council screenshot
"We also have costs that are substantially affected by movements in the construction sector. They are significantly higher than the Consumer Price Index, therefore, with the size of our capital programme, this does impact our rates."
"The increase in regulatory standards being imposed on us by central government has a direct impact on the cost to deliver core services and we do not receive any additional funding from central government to cover these costs," she said.
"We've worked very hard over the years, certainly the nine years I've been on council to keep rates as low as possible and as a result, our average annual rates increase has been among the lowest, if not the lowest in the country for 20 years now. However, this is not sustainable and we must ensure we are able to invest in our infrastructure."
All councillors supported the increase, although many were unhappy about it.
"I'd like to speak reluctantly in favour of the motion and we're all feeling the concern of rates increases," councillor Tania Wright said.
"While we need to cover costs and be sustainable into the future, the reality is that for many of our community right now, things are not looking good. I'm supporting this because it's the reality we're living in ... we've had a lot of costs imposed on us that are out of our control.
"I don't think that rates rises of this size are sustainable for our community into the future. They are going to cause significant hardship."
Meanwhile, the nearby city of Hastings also approved its rates change for the next year today. The average rise will be 6.9 per cent, the same as last year.
Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst acknowledged the challenges were "enormous".
"With inflation and cost increases, alongside some of the challenges with interest rates and us trying to manage to strike a rate that is fair and reasonable for everyone."
Napier pool saga continues
The attempts to build a new aquatic centre in Napier were also discussed at today's council meeting.
This has been a contentious public issue, after the council was taken to court by residents.
Several years ago, the council decided it would build a new pool on the corner of Prebensen Dr and Tamatea Dr in the suburb of Poraiti.
Residents in the suburb of of Onekawa, where the current pool is, took the council to court in 2019, claiming it had not consulted properly about moving the pool.
The residents lost the battle, but the pool construction still stopped.
Last March, councillors decided to consult the community before July this year on which site the facility should be built on.
But today, councillors changed their minds.
They asked staff to pause consultation, because they believed there would be financial and other risks by consulting with the current projected costs.
Reports commissioned by the council have already concluded the Poraiti site was the best site.
An artist's impression of the proposed facility. Photo: Supplied
Councillor Tania Wright was the only one to oppose the new resolution.
She said $2 million had been spent, without a spade being put in the ground.
"I'm finding it incredibly frustrating that we are still discussing and debating this issue as a council," she said.
"This is looking significantly expensive so far for nothing. I, as a councillor, am quite ashamed and disturbed and we have nothing to show for it and we don't even have a decision after all of this time.
"There were problems and issues with that [Onekawa] site - 30 percent more expensive to build on that site and we have continued not to make a decision, based on the robust evidence that has been put in front of us that clearly shows that we should be building a pool at Prebensen Drive and we should have got on with it."
Mayor Kirsten Wise said she acknowledged it has been "long and "drawn-out" and everyone was "frustrated".
"But this is an incredibly important asset and a huge investment for our community; we need to get it right,'' she said.
She also countered Wright's $2m claim, saying $1.6m had been spent on the Prebensen Dr site, so those costs would not be lost if the pool was built there.
A $2m spend was only 0.028 and 0.018 percent of the potential investment, she said.
"We've heard loud and clear from our community when we last spoke to them about this that they did not feel the consultation was adequate. I for one do not feel we have a mandate to proceed and make a decision ourselves."