Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper's warning his council will have to turn to increasing debt and or cutting council services if the coming year's rates increase is halved on earlier longer-term budget expectations.
Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper's warning his council will have to turn to increasing debt and or cutting council services if the coming year's rates increase is halved on earlier longer-term budget expectations.
Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper is warning that more than halving the council’s proposed rates increase will come with a $6 million cost.
The council initially forecast a 10.1% general rates increase for 2026/2027 but is now cutting that proposed increase to 5%.
The flat 5% increase was this first amongthree public consultation options formally adopted by the council for its 2026/2027 draft annual plan consultation in late February.
The second is a tweaked 5% increase that increases the share of the overall rates take from homeowners’ residential properties, while reducing the sector share for commercial businesses. The third is the original 10.1% increase.
Couper said halving the coming year’s general rates increase would cost the council $6m – that shortfall having to come from reduced council services or increased debt.
The council had yet to decide exactly where it would expect to be absorbed.
The council agenda for the February 24 meeting said the shortfall created by the lower 2026-27 rate increase would continue to impact in future years.
That concern is potentially deepened by a rates capping plan from Local Government Minister Simon Watts, who wants to limit annual rates increases to a target range of 2%-4%.
“With the potential introduction of rates capping, it must be noted that a reduced rates increase now will impact council’s future financial sustainability,” the agenda item said.
The draft annual plan also highlights major increases in targeted rates. These charges relate to drinking water, wastewater, flood protection, stormwater and road sealing.
Couper said the reduced rates increases would not in turn mean major hikes in the council’s fees and charges.
He said people needed to be realistic about there being some impact.
Couper’s warning comes on the eve of public consultation around the council’s draft 2026/2027 annual plan. This starts on Wednesday and ends on April 3.
Further pressure on the council’s aims of achieving a balanced budget is expected once water and wastewater activities shift from the council to the region’s new water services entity.
“The wastewater activity currently generates an operating surplus, which contributes towards council’s balance benchmark result.”
At the same time, the draft annual plan highlights major increases in targeted rates.
These charges relate to drinking water, wastewater, flood protection, stormwater and road sealing.
Stormwater rates will increase by 57%.
Council water rates will increase by 22.6%, as the region’s three councils head towards the region’s joint single water services entity for the North and cross-subsidisation between Whangārei, Kaipara and the Far North councils.
