Council finance manager Simon Manville said rates were “a bit of a pro-rata [proportionate allocation]”.
“We can’t just take our total rates bill and divide it by our 21,000 properties and say, ‘There you go, there’s your share’.
“The Rating Act says we can only charge 30 per cent of our rates on a fixed fee per property [uniform annual general charge].
“That means the rest of it has to be done on some valuation factors, or other factors outlined in the Rating Act.”
Whanganui property valuations were undertaken last year by independent valuers QV (Quotable Value) and reflected a property’s likely selling price on October 1, 2022.
The council’s general rate, which covers services benefiting the entire community such as libraries, museums, parks and cemeteries, is based on land value.
Aramoho and Castlecliff’s average land values jumped by 148 per cent and 143 per cent respectively from the valuation three years previously.
A property in Aramoho, possibly a quarter-acre section, would have had a land value of about $30,000 six years ago, Manville said.
“Across the board, roughly speaking, $200,000 is the [current] value of a section anywhere in Whanganui.”
Elsewhere, Whanganui East will have an average increase of $302.53 (10.1 per cent) in 2023/24.
Outside Springvale and St Johns Hill/Otamatea, other residential suburbs with below-average rate rises are Bastia and Durie Hills/Pūtiki (5.2 per cent), Whanganui Central (7.3 per cent) and Whanganui Rural (2.6 per cent).
The average rates increase for the entire district will be 7.9 per cent, down from the 8.3 per cent originally predicted, due to rates growth of $1,068,175. That is up from the $600,000 in the council’s Annual Plan.
Manville said one reason for that was an increase of 271 in the number of rateable units, which can include separately used or inhabited parts of properties, in the district. A further 225 new residential properties have been created, along with 35 new commercial properties, mostly in the Mill Rd area.
Councillor Kate Joblin said the council’s rates team was there for anyone who found their new rates demand “scary”.
“Please talk to the rates team and deal with it earlier rather than later.”
Whanganui Deputy Mayor Helen Craig said central government provided a rates subsidy, administered by the council, that people on low incomes could apply for.
“People should feel confident coming forward.
“Come in and check out whether you can apply, because it does help and it’s not affecting anybody else in our district. It’s the Government paying for it.”
Rates notices for the 2023/24 financial year will be sent to households in early August.
Information for a household is available on the ‘Property Rating Search’ section of Whanganui District Council’s website.
The council’s rates team can be contacted via 06 349 0001 or at rates@whanganui.govt.nz.
Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
