Napier rates rise kept under 5 per cent

Napier Memorial Centre, where the council's Annual Plan was adopted, home for many of its decisions pending a plan for new headquarters after abandoning its Civic Building in 2017. Photo / File

The Napier City Council has been able to limit the rates increase across the city to under 5 per cent by cutting its capital programme and using reserves to cover the remaining shortfall in operating costs.

Refusing to go anywhere near a 14 per cent increase, which threatened as the Covid-19 crisis began to take its grip, and trying to keep rates revenue to the usual comparatively low level of about 50 per cent of the budget, the council has struck an increase averaging 4.8 per cent.

The original 2020-2021 capital programme has been cut by almost $23 million, from $72m to $59.5m, and the remaining predicted operating gap is to be covered with $4m from its Parking Reserve fund and $2.74m from the Subdivision and Urban Growth Fund.

The figures were confirmed on Thursday as the Council adopted its 2020-2021 Annual Plan at a meeting in the Large Exhibition Hall of the Napier War Memorial Centre, home for many of the council deliberations and decisions while awaiting decisions on a more permanent home after the evacuation of its Civic Building as an earthquake risk more than three years ago.

In response to the Covid-19 crisis the council has also created rates and rental relief packages, and in expectation of entering the borrowing market in the future, the council has agreed to join the Local Government Funding Agency, of which most city and district councils are now members.

Mayor Kirsten Wise said a "zero rates increase" would not help those who really need it, and added: "Given the endorsement from submitters to use our savings rather than pursue a loan to cover the operating shortfall, I think we have made the right choice by not placing an extra burden on our future ratepayers".

"The pandemic has been the biggest challenge for us this year, but we are confident we have planned to cope as best we can," she said. "We have just under $60m targeted towards specific projects in our capital work programme, with a further $3.4m worth remaining in the plan, to be completed as time and resources allow."

Water has been reaffirmed as the number one priority, with more than $24m of drinking, stormwater and wastewater projects budgeted over the next year.

The council spent two and a half days at the War Memorial Centre for the Annual Plan hearing this month. It received 310 submissions, of which 40 were from organisations or groups.