Opinion: Rates rise all well and good - but mind the treats

We all have to show restraint sometimes when it comes to treats. Photo/Getty Images

There is bad news for ratepayers in the council's 2017/18 Annual Plan draft consultation document, as we report today.

The proposal is for rates to rise by an average of 3.8 per cent - significantly higher than the 2.6 per cent signalled in the long term plan.

It's worse than that for urban residents, who will pay on average 4.1 per cent more in the 2018 financial year, should the proposal get the go ahead.

The proposed hike comes on top of a 6-8 per cent rise for urban residents in 2015 and a 2-2.2 per cent rise last year. For an average three-bedroom home in Utuhina I now pay around $2550 annually. Other readers no doubt pay more.

If those with greater financial and strategic minds than mine believe this is the best way to keep the city running as it should I will suck up paying another $100 or so a year, albeit grumbling. No one wants to see infrastructure and vital services suffer.

But if that's the case, then in my view the council needs to think extra hard about every cent it spends on projects that could be perceived to be "wants" not "needs". The Hemo Gorge sculpture and Green Corridor are two examples often cited on social media by locals as falling into that category.

Ratepayers don't object to paying for what's needed nor do most of us object to paying for extras that make our district a more pleasurable place to live. But when that keeps hitting our wallets we will inevitably take a bit more notice of what that money is being spent on.

Just as I dragged myself away from a pair of gorgeous boots in the shoe store last week, I would not be surprised to see a growing public expectation that the council shows the same restraint towards "treats" in the future.