Protesters rally as Tauranga council confirms 9.9% rates increase

Some of the 60 people who gathered outside the Tauranga City Council building to protest the 9.9% rates increase on Thursday morning. Photo / Supplied

Tauranga homeowners will pay an extra $180 to $1124 in rates for 2025 after the council approved its budget.

Tauranga City Council adopted the 2025/26 Annual Plan at a meeting on Thursday with a 9.9% overall rates increase.

About 60 people gathered before the meeting to protest the rates increase.

It was the second rally organised by Jan Gyenge. In May, around 250 people marched down Devonport Rd calling for a 0% rates increase for 2025.

Gyenge said Thursday’s rally was to let the councillors know people were still not happy with the 9.9% rates increase, given it was nowhere near the 0% they called for.

There would be another protest at midday Sunday outside the council building 90 Devonport Rd, she said.

The 9.9% increase was down from the 12.5% initially proposed.

Gyenge and three others spoke in the public forum asking the council to reduce the rates.

Gyenge’s request to speak at Wednesday’s meeting was initially declined because the council said her perspective had been heard before, but it had a last-minute change of heart.

She asked the councillors to “stop the wastage”.

Gyenge talked about the council’s spending and chastised it for a planned playground opening event in Bethlehem, with free food and face-painting.

Tauranga resident Jan Gyenge spoke in the public forum against the 9.9% rates increase. Photo / Alisha Evans

“It’s a little amount, relatively, but these little amounts add up. This expenditure has to stop.”

Mayor Mahé Drysdale said the council took more than $30 million out of its operating budget to get to the 9.9% increase.

This included cutting 98 staff, with more likely still to come as the council underwent a management review.

Drysdale said there was a lot of work to do in Tauranga after “chronic underinvestment” in facilities and infrastructure.

Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale. Photo / David Hall

“We do understand the tough financial position a number of households find themselves in.

“This [annual plan] strikes a good balance of keeping the investment in our city for what we need for the future while making it as affordable as possible.”

Councillor Rick Curach said the council had a big job ahead to look for further savings, but he was confident they could reduce the forecasted rates in the 10-year plan.

Rates increases were not in line with people’s wage increases, and many in the community found it “increasingly difficult” to afford them, he said.

“I look forward to finding more and more savings and not having such a huge cost on our community.”

Ōtūmoetai ward councillor Glen Crowther. Photo / David Hall

Councillor Glen Crowther said he would support the Annual Plan, but the council had to deliver a lower rates increase next year.

“We have to get bigger savings than we’ve got this year.”

The council needed to look at its capital projects and reorganise them to “lock in some affordability”, he said.

It must figure out what the public could afford and come up with a plan that met those requirements, Crowther said.

“We are here to serve the public. We are not here to deliver a plan.”

Deputy mayor Jen Scoular. Photo / David Hall

Deputy mayor Jen Scoular said people wanted new playgrounds, sports fields and facilities.

But the council needed to understand how to get more value from its “significant expenditure,” she said.

Drysdale said they were approving a budget by adopting the Annual Plan but that did not mean they needed to spend it all.

“We want to find every saving that we can, and I think there’s big opportunities to continue to save money.”

The council could deliver the same assets for significantly less money if it looked at its processes and did things differently, he said.

“This is setting a budget, now the real hard work starts as we try to deliver under that budget.”

How much will your rates increase?

Residential rates rises by property capital value in the Annual Plan 2025/26:

Capital value $355,000 – $180.83 (8.3%)

Capital value $715,000 – $275.85 (9%)

Capital value $885,000 – $320.72 (9.2%)

Capital Value $1.12m – $382.75 (9.4%)

Capital Value $3.929m – $1124.22 (10.2%)

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.