Green light to start council annual plan consultation
Published on 29 March 2023
Whanganui District elected representatives have approved the draft annual plan at the 28 March strategy and policy committee meeting and consultation will start on Monday, 3 April.
Mayor Andrew Tripe says councillors are acutely aware many people in our community are doing it tough with cost of living increases.
“With this on our minds we’ve gone through the council books line by line to get rates as low as possible while still delivering on what makes Whanganui a great place to live.
“The challenge for councils all around New Zealand is that we’re grappling with unprecedented cost increases – whether it’s insurance and interest rate hikes or the soaring cost of bitumen for roads, to name just a few examples.”
After a series of workshops council staff and elected representatives managed to bring the proposed average rates rise down to 7.9% (which would increase to slightly over 8% if the Rotokawau Virginia Lake aviary is retained and improved). For an average residential property, this increase would be about an extra $5 per week.
Mayor Andrew says it’s important to emphasise this figure is the average and some properties will vary up or down by a lot more than that. The big driver behind upward variation is dramatic increases in the value of land in traditionally lower-priced areas of Whanganui, like Aramoho, Castlecliff and Gonville.
He says this is still a good figure in the current environment, especially with a number of councils around the country bringing in rates rises over 10%.
“There’s a perception out there that rates are much higher in Whanganui than other places. This may have been true years ago, but it’s certainly not true now. Nationally, Whanganui’s rates sit mid-range.”
Households will have recently received a new rating valuation in the mail from Quotable Value (QV).
“Some people think the council gets more money in rates when property values increase but that’s actually not correct,” Mayor Andrew says. “Valuations help us work out everyone’s share of rates – so what QV’s revaluation can change is the size of your ‘piece of the pie’ or what you pay compared to others.”
The big question for consideration in the draft annual plan is the future of the Rotokawau Virginia Lake aviary.
In February, the council commissioned an independent review of the aviary by a qualified zoologist. The review found the aviary does not meet best practice standards for animal health and welfare. Significant updates to the aviary structure and layout and increased staffing would be needed to meet best practice standards of care for the birds.
The council’s strategy and policy committee discussed options for the aviary on 28 March, ahead of community consultation on the annual plan which begins on Monday next week.
Chair of the strategy and policy committee, Councillor Kate Joblin, says elected representatives are keen to hear what the community thinks should happen with the aviary.
“We know many people in our community have special memories of visiting the aviary over the years but standards of care have changed and it no longer meets best practice standards of care for the birds,” she says.
Kate Joblin says, “Now we need to decide whether we close it down and rehome the birds at modern aviaries or zoos, or make some level of investment in the aviary that will address animal welfare concerns.”
Council staff presented councillors with two options for the future of the aviary – either to close it or rebuild the aviary to a higher standard in line with recommendations in the zoologist’s report, however at the meeting, councillors asked to include a third option in the annual plan consultation to address animal welfare standards only. The majority of councillors supported this as their preferred option for consultation.
Council chief executive David Langford says any improvements to the aviary and ongoing running costs would come at an additional cost to ratepayers. “Including an upgrade to the aviary and increased staffing to meet animal welfare standards will push the average rates rise up.”
Kate Joblin says, “Consultation on our draft annual plan starts next week on Monday, 3 April and runs until Sunday, 30 April – make sure you have your say through that process so your feedback can be formally considered.”
Ratepayers who are struggling to pay rates can contact the council’s rates team to discuss options by phoning 06 349 0001 or emailing rates@whanganui.govt.nz
If you think your rating valuation is incorrect, make sure you lodge an objection with QV before Friday, 14 April. You can contact their call centre on 0800 787 284, email ratingsupport@qv.co.nz or lodge an objection on this link: Object to Rating Valuation (qv.co.nz)