Tararua District ratepayers are facing a substantial increase for the 2023-24 annual plan with a 13.17 per cent rise approved.

Corporate group manager Raj Suppiah explained the process - which involved public consultation and a lot of work - that had gone into arriving at the final figure.

Raj Suppiah: a lot of work had been done to arrive at the final rates figure.

The council had gone through a series of workshops which were “slightly disrupted” through Cyclone Gabrielle, he said.

The initial rates increase was significantly higher than the Long Term Plan and “higher than what we wanted.

“We did a fair bit of work to review that increase.”

As the proposed increase of 13.18 per cent was much higher than the LTP, it was decided it was important to consult with the community and a series of meetings were held.

Suppiah said they had received some “good feedback in terms of submissions”.

He said they looked at some significant key items in terms of depreciation and debt levels and there were significant discussions and small changes as a result of submission hearings.

Some of those changes were around refuse disposal and savings identified in Solid Waste, some capital projects being deferred and minor operational changes which allowed them to bring the rates increase to 13.17 per cent.

Council papers note the increase was “the result of rising operating costs through inflation and regulatory compliance requirements and council’s priorities in this Annual Plan namely compliance, renewing ageing assets, infrastructure investment in response to growth and building resilience.”

Suppiah said the changes resulted in an impact where the concentrations of the rates increase aligned with the average increase, so while there were some ratepayers in each sector or rural, urban and industrial/commercial paying more or less than the average, the majority were in the middle of the bell curve.

Tararua District Councillor Sharon Wards: It's still going to be tough on the community. Photo / NZME

Councillor Sharon Wards said one of the upsides of having gone through the process with the community was the level of engagement.

“We received some fabulous submissions with lots of great suggestions on how we might land where we’ve landed.”

She said when she reflected on what councillors started with compared to what was in front of them to approve, the changes reflected the feedback, even though it hadn’t changed the overall outcome.

“It is still going to be tough on our community.”

Councillor Kerry Sutherland said it had been a really hard process and they’d received a lot of incredibly strong and passionate submissions with the majority around affordability.

He said in the urban sector, a significant number of ratepayers would see an increase of more than 13 per cent and he would hate for those ratepayers to be cynical about a pre-determined decision.

Some submitters had made comments that it was a “done deal already”, Sutherland said.

Kerry Sutherland: Councillors also pay rates and feel the same pain over the increase. Photo / Leanne Warr

“Looking around the table I think there was a lot of heartburn and a lot of soul-searching to try and keep the rates at that level. Everybody in here’s ratepayers and we feel the same pain.”

For those ratepayers with concerns around affordability, there were still options including the rates rebate or talking over the issue with council staff.

Dannevirke Ratepayers and Residents Association chairman Craig Ellmers said there was no question that successive double-figure rates rises would extend the majority of households well above their fixed incomes.

“With large capital works such as roading and water supply being paramount, it is a real question as to how Council intends to balance the books, and in the process consider the financial burden on the townsfolk who don’t have stores of spare cash.

“It is apparent from the mood of many people in the town, they do not want to keep funding failed infrastructure projects, which will burden generations to come through the ever-increasing mounting debt ceiling.”