Not as big a shock as expected

Many ratepayers in the Far North expected the worst have generally been surprised that huge property valuation increases this year have not necessarily been reflected in their rate demands.

Revenue & Policy Manager Chris Ellington said today the general feedback from the community following the release of the first quarter rate demands for the new financial year was one of concern about the increases but surprise that they were not as high as they anticipated.

"Many people were expecting a much greater impact because of the high increases in valuations.

"The fact is that only the General Rate is affected by land valuations –the majority of rate costs are fixed charges such as water and wastewater which have increased only by a small amount.

"This means the bottom line on the rate account has been less than people anticipated, particularly in areas in which valuations are traditionally at a lower level," he said.

On average the overall rate increase in the Far North was only three per cent. Variations in rate increases occur where valuation increases have either been greater than or less than the average across the district.