Kaitaia gets BID head start

Kaitaia has beaten the rest of Northland - and every other rural centre in New Zealand - to set up a Business Improvement District.

Outgoing Kaitaia Business Association chairman Greg Phillips said the new group would give businesses more cash and more clout, so they could start making a real difference to the town's security, appearance and marketing.

Although a private initiative driven by the business association, the BID needed the backing of the Far North District Council, which will collect fees on its behalf (see the sidebar 'What is a BID?').

Councillors gave the BID a green light as part of their Long Term Plan discussions last week, with the new group coming into being on July 1.

Mr Phillips said the biggest difference between the BID and the business association it superseded was its much bigger membership - close to 300 instead of 30 - and greater ability to raise money, both from fees and grants from funding organisations.

It would also give businesses a stronger voice in disputes with the council, with footpaths and high commercial rates a few of the long-time bugbears.

The group wanted to make the centre of Kaitaia "more secure, tidier and nicer looking" and to put the town "on the map in a positive way".

One of the projects in the group's sights was creating an attractive park in Melba St, which already had a lawn and trees but was blighted by old, unsightly public toilets. The BID wanted new toilets built in another spot - possibly as a joint venture with the council - and drinking fountains installed, Mr Phillips said.

Another idea was walkway from Te Ahu to Melba St lined with sculptures or photo murals.

The business association was proud to have set up the first BID in Northland, and the country's first in a rural centre. That success was the result of a two-year campaign with "a lot of hard work and a lot of feet on the ground, talking to all the businesses".

Speaking at last week's council meeting, Mr Phillips said properties inside the BID - which covered the old Kaitaia borough commercial and industrial zones - would be charged an average of $200 each. The timber mill would pay significantly more and small shops about $100. It would be up to property owners whether to absorb the new fee or pass it on to their tenants.

The BID had to win approval of the majority of property owners when they voted in a ballot earlier this year. Mr Phillips admitted the margin was small, with 53 per cent of voters in favour and a mere 28 per cent response rate.

"It was tight, but we can say we got our mandate," he said.

Close to half the groups' 2012-13 budget of $23,000 would be spent on maintaining the town's CCTV system, which was starting to wear out, and investigating ways of improving the town's appearance.

Councillor Monty Knight, himself a Kaitaia business owner, warned of a possible backlash from businesses already struggling to pay their rates.

Because the "fairer" rates system proposed in the Long-Term Plan had not gone ahead, commercial property owners were still paying a three times differential on their rates - and now they would see a new charge on top of that.

"We're going to have to brace for a reaction," Mr Knight said.

Mr Phillips said some business owners might complain they hadn't been informed about the new fee, but a team of ten volunteers had tried hard to track down and talk to everyone ahead of the ballot.