Small Taupo rate rise pleasing

Environment Waikato’s Taupo councillor Laurie Burdett says she is pleased that her district’s ratepayers are only facing a minimal rate rise next year.

The regional council yesterday confirmed a planned 5.5 per cent rise in rates revenue across the Waikato region for 2008-09, broadly in line with the rise in the council’s costs.

The region-wide rise is mainly associated with targeted Hamilton passenger transport rates that Taupo residents do not pay, Cr Burdett said.

In Taupo, an average $350,000 house is facing a rise of 1 per cent or $2.19 to $274.28.

Property revaluations in the district may change the rates bill faced by some individual ratepayers by more or less than that percentage, Cr Burdett said.

“But it’s pleasing for me to see that increases in Environment Waikato rates themselves are not generally adding significantly to the costs faced by Taupo ratepayers.”

For a $350,000 Taupo houses, the only rates charged on a region wide basis to go up were the uniform annual general charge (+2 per cent or $1.28) and the biosecurity rate (+9 per cent or $2.27). But that was partially offset by an 8 per cent drop (minus $1.40) in the protecting Lake Taupo rate.

Targetted rates specific to Taupo were not increased but the debt faced as a result of flood control schemes in the Taupo area is an issue that needs to be faced in future, Cr Burdett said.