Inflation figures released in October revealed what many people already suspected. Rates increased by 12.2% in the 12 months to October - the largest jump since1990.
Councils blamed the triple whammy of rising prices, insurance and interest rates.
Infrastructure costs - such as roading, water pipes and bridges - also soared for local authorities.
Put simply, councils said they were paying more to cover the basics.
‘Rein in the fantasies’
The Government, however, felt councils weren’t doing enough to keep spiralling costs under control.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told councils to “rein in the fantasies” and focus on core business.
“Pick up the rubbish, fix the pipes, fill in potholes, and more generally, maintain local assets quickly, carefully, and cost effectively,” he told Local Government representatives in August.
But the Government pushed forward with plans to remove four wellbeing measures from the Local Government Act and introducing a range of benchmarks for local council spending and performance.
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said wellbeing provisions (to promote social, economic, environmental, and cultural wellbeing of communities) were leading to rates increases.
“It is clear that rates are out of control. These increases are unacceptable to ratepayers, and unacceptable to the Government,” he said.
“What kind of a community would we live in if we didn’t have the arts, if we didn’t have music, if we didn’t have our festivals, if we didn’t promote our culture and our wellbeing?”
Growing division: Māori wards
The debate over Māori wards also sparked a widening divide between central and local authorities.
Under a new law, councils that established a Māori ward from 2020 without a referendum had to either scrap the ward or hold a binding public poll during the 2025 local elections.
However, the overwhelming majority of the 45 impacted councils voted to retain their Māori wards.
The fate of those wards will be left in the hands of voters when a referendum is held during local elections in 2025.
Fears of anti-Māori rhetoric
A Whakatāne councillor told Local Democracy Reporting she is bracing herself for more anti-Māori rhetoric leading up to the referendum.
Being yelled at for using te reo Māori and having someone call “heil Hitler” at her — these are just some of Toni Boynton’s experiences as a councillor.
“I’ve had people come up to me and ask, ‘why have you got that barcode on your face’,” Whakatāne District Council’s Kāpū Te Rangi Māori ward councillor told Local Democracy Reporting.
Rangitīkei Mayor Andy Watson said critique and abuse, particularly on social media platforms, had increased significantly for councillors.
“You’re answerable to social media. People don’t understand what is required of modern-day councillors, or the scale of the job and how much it has increased over time.”
National Party deputy leader Nicola Willis weighed in on the issue, calling on people to join her in “belittling the trolls”.
Speaking at a gathering of women in local government in August, Willis read out a message she received: “Eff up bitch, you ruin lives, that makes you an effing rhymes-with-munt.”
But don’t expect this to always translate to lower rates for cash-strapped homeowners.
Increases are already pencilled in for some regions, including Christchurch residents who face a potential 9.76% rates increase.
It’ll be a busy time for councils in 2025 as they work through a raft of new policies from the Government.
Look out for more details on the Government’s ambitions at local level: speed limit reversals, easing the rules to allow more housing; resource management changes, fast-tracked projects, and the affordable water reforms.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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