Wellington City Councillors will next week agree the draft 2024-34 Long-term Plan Consultation Document for auditing prior to community consultation in April. This includes a proposed rates increase for the 2024/2025 year of 16.4% (after growth in the ratepayer base). This excludes the levy for the Moa Point Sludge Minimisation Facility, which will add a further 1.6%.
Subsidising low rates with debt only goes so far.
Inflation works for debt too, it becomes worth less over time, but only so far.
Eventually revenue must increase such that debt can be serviced. That means rates rises.
A “big” rates rise this year just means that “last” year’s was not big enough.
Agreed. I’m honestly at the point where I just assume rates will be up 15ish% each year, and I kinda feel like they just need to say that’s what the plan is for the next umpty-um years
Did they subsidise low rates with debt? I thought with the pipes they just subsidised them with neglect by deferring maintenance and replacements.
I never feel like the debt implications are fully explored in these discussions. As with housing, there’s a small group of vested interests that I feel take some options off the table from the start. Debt is great for long-lived capital infrastructure like this as it spreads the cost over all the generations who will make use of it over the next 80 years or so. Unfortunately it’s automatically a political taboo.
But I dunno, maybe that’s already factored in with these rises.
Ouchie. I’m glad I live in the Hutt Valley.
Your rates don’t go up?