Rural ratepayers are on the warpath against the Auckland Council after being blindsided by steep rate rises.
Council officers are scrambling to contain the anger, with an online session planned with rural sections of the Super City on Thursday, and one councillor calling for a cap on rate hikes.
In the past fortnight, the Herald has reported complaints of “staggering” rate increases.
They include a 72% rates jump on a family home in Ōrewa which was rezoned for new housing that cannot be developed for several years.
A Rodney Rates Shock Action Facebook page set up 10 days ago to co-ordinate action against “a misleading campaign that targets our communities with unsustainable hikes” has already attracted 850 members.
Ivan Flagstaff, a member of the Rodney Local Board who created the page, alleged that council officers were aware the new valuations would affect rural residents, but failed to include this in consultation material for this year’s budget.
He pointed to a budget document showing a slight downward adjustment to the proportion of rates that rural properties pay, and the consultation material showing estimated increases for residential and business ratepayers, but nothing for rural ratepayers.
“The council possessed data showing a rate shock was inevitable for rural residents, but chose not to provide an example for our category, effectively hiding the impact,” Flagstaff said.
Based on an informal poll conducted on the Facebook page, Flagstaff said average rate increases in rural Rodney and Franklin ranged between 15% and 30%, with some cases even higher.
These findings are similar to earlier comments from Franklin Local Board member Gary Holmes and Rodney Local Board member Mark Dennis, who noted increases exceeding 23% earlier this month.
The increases are a stark contrast to the council’s 5.8% average residential rates rise this year.
Matakana resident Nik Payne told the Herald the 50% rate rise on his modest home, from $3884 to $5862, came as a bolt out of the blue.
“We have recently restructured our mortgage to find a way to save $175 per week. A sizeable portion of this ‘saving’ will now go to Auckland Council,” he said.
Another Rodney ratepayer, Christine Parkinson, who was hit with a 20% rate rise, said: “I don’t recall any consultation about such huge changes being made to rural areas”.
Council chief finance officer Ross Tucker said this year’s consultation material included some proposed rating policy changes, but none specifically related to rural rates.
Information about rural/farm/lifestyle changes was included in supporting information documents.
“The consultation material focused on proposed changes to rating policy, such as adjustments to waste management target rates.
“No policy changes were proposed for rural rates. Rural rates policy settings were intended to be left unchanged,” he said.
Tucker said the revaluation process required certification by the Valuer-General, which was completed on June 9. Until then, the council held preliminary data but was unable to release or comment on it publicly.
Because the Annual Plan and rating valuation processes ran concurrently, Tucker said, the council couldn’t forecast rates for individual properties using the new 2024 valuations.
All consultation material clearly stated that final rates would depend on each property’s certification.
Tucker acknowledged that timing constraints limited the council’s ability to provide more specific information to ratepayers, but said the consultation material included all available details on rate setting across property types, including rural properties.
Rodney councillor Greg Sayers expressed frustration over steep rate hikes that far exceed the 5.8% increase promoted during public consultation.
He blamed the issue on the 2024 property revaluations, which showed a citywide drop of 9.1%, while rural and lifestyle properties held or gained value, resulting in disproportionate rate increases for rural homeowners.
Sayers highlighted two key failings: the delayed release of revaluation data and the lack of warning during consultation. He is calling for a rates cap to protect affected communities.
Franklin councillor Andy Baker, facing a 25% rate hike, said it was an uncomfortable time for the rural sector.
He assumed officers knew some sort of hit was coming for rural property owners because of the revaluation process, when they flagged a small drop in the percentage of rates paid by the rural sector.
But Baker said the issue was not raised with councillors.
Past valuations had benefitted rural areas, but this year’s exercise has hit them hard. It was time to rethink how the council is funded and reduce reliance on property-based rates, he said.
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