KEY POINTS:
Rodney District Council is under pressure to ease the rates burden on businesses which estimated they were overcharged $2 million this year.
They have formed the Rodney Rates Action Group to lobby for "fair rates" after rises of up to 200 per cent.
Businesses and landlords say their rating burden is a big turn-off for jobs and investment.
Refunds are being pursued despite Mayor Penny Webster's saying the council cannot withdraw this year's rates demands to individuals.
Rodney Economic Development Trust says it is working with business leaders to channel the strong feelings into a positive direction and is urging the council to keep talking to business.
Action group chairman Neil Barr said the council had not understood the impact of this year's rating decision and once the impact was understood, it should have made consultation a high priority.
The group is now lobbying for the council to make it up to the commercial and industrial sector when forming next year's budget.
It also wants rating changes to take the sting out of future years' rates.
Mr Barr said the sector was paying a disproportionate share. One businessman would have to sell an extra $150,000 of electrical appliances to cover the rise in his Orewa store's rates.
"This is an additional stress when the economy has turned against businesses - they are already struggling to survive."
Mr Barr encouraged people to apply to Quotable Value for a review of their property's valuation, used for calculating rates.
The council says it will waive penalties and pay for the reviews and will reassess the current year's rate based on any corrected valuation.
Mr Barr said everyone was still upset "but the council has agreed to look at it in the future and maybe we can claw some of that back".
The action group has chosen businessman Leigh Hopper to join the Rodney Economic Development Trust and the council in looking at different rating structures.
Suggestions include changing from basing rates on land value to capital value - land plus improvements - and reducing the differential rate on commercial and industrial against residential from 4:1 down to 2:1.
Waitakere City Council also faces protests from businesses over rate rises based on last September's QV assessments. However, it has been advised to delay any change from land value to capital value until the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance issues its report.
