Far North ratepayers facing 16.5 per cent rates rise due to weather damage, soaring costs

Far North Kahika/Mayor Moko Tepania said a 16.5 per cent rates rise is needed to help the district ‘catch up’ with work needed to recover from major wether events on the district, including Cyclone Gabrielle.

Far North ratepayers face a huge 16.5 per cent rates rise as the council plays “catch-up” to help recover from the effects of recent weather events that have cost tens of millions of dollars.

However, it could have been even worse, with the council initially looking at an unprecedented 33 per cent rise.

Far North District Council formally adopted its Long Term Plan (LTP) consultation document for the 2024-27 financial years at an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday.

The document will now go out for consultation, but FNDC is the latest local body around the country to propose double digit rates rises as many struggle with paying for failing infrastructure and the costs of weather damage.

People now have a month to have their say on how the council allocates its spending for the next three years.

Far North Kahika / Mayor Moko Tepania said the LTP usually looks 10 years ahead but back-to-back weather events in 2022 and 2023, including Cyclone Gabrielle, had a significant impact on Far North infrastructure.

He said the weather caused 487 slips - 140 by Cyclone Gabrielle alone - and the repair bill for the district’s road network has been estimated at $41 million with $15 million of those repairs now completed.

It’s estimated that the damage from Cyclone Gabrielle alone cost Northland more than $1 billion.

Recognising the extra financial and capacity challenges faced by some local authorities, the Government is allowing eight councils, including FNDC, to produce LTPs that cover just three years instead of 10.

Tepania said this LTP should be treated as a “catch-up plan” to enable the district to recover from the effects of weather events.

It includes a total rates increase of 16.5 per cent for the 2024/25 financial year that starts in July; a 7.9 per cent rise for 2025/26 and then 4.6 per cent in the third year - meaning rates will have risen by about 30 per cent at the end of the three years.

But it’s the first year’s rise that will bite the hardest, as the country struggles through a cost of living crisis that has seen bills and costs rise across the board.

Tepania said while this rise is historically high for FNDC, it is on a par with many other councils, and according to Local Government NZ, 25 out of 48 councils are proposing rate increases of between 14 and 16 per cent.

Whangārei District Council has proposed a 17.2 per cent rates rise for the next financial year, while Kaipara District Council has proposed an 18.3 per cent rise for the same period. The last FNDC rates rise was 6.78 per cent.

“Three Waters legislation, spiralling inflation, increased insurance and contractor costs, combined with our bill for infrastructure recovery saw the council initially looking at a rate increase around 33 per cent. Councillors and staff undertook a line-by-line examination of projects and budgets and have reduced that figure to 16.5 per cent,” he said.

To justify the rise the council has also released information showing how costs have risen over the past three years - sewerage systems are 30 per cent more expensive to build and roads and water supplies 27 per cent more expensive to build than three years ago. The council has also allocated more than $322m for new works and road renewals over the next five years.

Tepania said while the district’s transport network will be the spending priority over the next three years, there are other proposals the council is asking for community feedback on.

These proposals are:

■ Changing the way council charges stormwater rates across the district

■ Changing the way water and wastewater services are rated

■ Changing how the council delivers community services.

Consultation closes on April 28 and people can make a submission, at www.fndc.govt.nz/Whats-new/Have-your-say/Long-Term-Plan-2024-27