All 14 Environment Waikato councillors have voted for a draft plan to increase regional rates by up to 25 per cent, even though some are uncomfortable with it.
Most are blaming central government policy for putting the sting in ratepayers' pockets.
Public submission on the council's spending plans are being
made now to a council whose members won't say which way they plan to vote when the issue is decided in June.
Council chairwoman Jenni Vernon said councillors wanted to hear what the public had to say first on the draft plan they unanimously backed on March 17.
"It would be inappropriate to speculate before all that information is in," Ms Vernon said.
"I don't think anybody is comfortable there's going to be a rate increase, but I've never made a (an election) platform of no annual rate increase because that's just not realistic."
Just to keep ahead of inflation, councils needed to increase rates by two to three per cent, Mrs Vernon said.
"What we try to do is minimise the increase."
This year's increases will add an extra $13-$23 to the bills of most of the region's 171,000 households or businesses, but invoices for farmers are set to jump by more than $100.
The biggest increases will be in the Otorohanga and Taupo districts, where recent capital valuations have taken place.
Council staff have defended the hikes, saying many of the costs -- such as the Lake Taupo uniform rate which goes from $9 last year to $18 this year -- had been foreshadowed.
However, the proposals still include a $2-$5 component that had not been previously flagged to ratepayers.
General rate revenue is now predicted to increase by $2.996 million, against last year's forecast increase of $1.818 million.
Targeted rates revenue will go up $3.077 million, a rise on last year's projection of a $2.582 million increase.
That will give council an extra $3.5 million to spend.
Hamilton councillor Paula Southgate said she was uncomfortable with the increases, but they were being forced on the council by central government delegating its responsibilities.
"The national air quality standards and dam safety are two examples," she said.
"The dam safety responsibility is perhaps the most ridiculous addition to our workload in some time."
Her Hamilton colleague, David Peart, also complained central government had abrogated its responsibility.
"It is not logical that your house and my house should be paying for navigational safety," he said.
- NZPA
All 14 Environment Waikato councillors have voted for a draft plan to increase regional rates by up to 25 per cent, even though some are uncomfortable with it.
Most are blaming central government policy for putting the sting in ratepayers' pockets.
Public submission on the council's spending plans are being
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