Ōpōtiki Mayor concerned with likely rates rise

Ōpōtiki Mayor, David Moore, said that like most other councils around Aotearoa, the impacts of inflation and current cost of living, were going to have an impact on rates in the coming year.

“Councils are not immune to these price pressures and while we are absorbing as much of the cost as we can, we still need to continue to function. Our dollar is buying less and inflation is hurting our activities as much as anyone else’s. Materials and resources cost a lot more than they did even a couple of years ago.

“We have started talking about the current annual plan at council and the first paper is coming to the March meeting for us to start having hard conversations and considering our options. There is no way around it and it is upsetting – none of us around the table or at council want to put more pressure on already stretched households in the district. But we are simply not immune to a crisis that is impacting almost every corner of the globe,” Mayor Moore said.

There are four main “levers” that councils can use to fill the gap between current income and what can be paid for with that money: rate increases, debt increases, asset sales, and operational savings and service cuts.

“We are working through those options but there is very little wriggle room. Ōpōtiki has traditionally kept costs incredibly low. We have always been proud of this fact with some of the lowest rates in the country. But it means when it comes to the crunch, we don’t have much room to move. We don’t have assets like airport shares or ports that buffer our costs. And we need to be extra careful with debt as rates are really our only form of income so any debt we take on will just need to be repaid (with interest) through rates at a later date. It is better to use that debt to fund projects and infrastructure that has a long life rather than operational costs.

“Realistically, our options are a combination of increasing revenue through rates rises, fees and charges and reduced services. You will have seen this conversation reflected in communities across New Zealand,” Mayor Moore said.

The Mayor reiterated that council wasn’t planning any new projects, but it was simply costing more to deliver existing services than it had done in the past.
“We will go through this process, look at each item and ask hard questions. As always, councillors must balance current needs of different parts of our community and long-term wellbeing and vision for our district. We also need to consider where we will be in a year’s time when we know more about Three Waters changes or wider local government reorganisation.

“Council books are open and you can see our income and outgoings. It will be a year of tightening our belts all around and we encourage people to check in with councillors as we go through this annual plan process so you can see the sorts of decisions we must make and the likely implications for the community,” Mayor Moore said.

Ōpōtiki District Council’s Annual Plan will be signed off by the end of June following an opportunity for community input.