TCDC cuts average rate increase from 6.9% to 4.16% for coming year

Councillors respond to ratepayers' requests to keep rates rise to minimum.

Thames-Coromandel ratepayers will be paying an average 4.16 per cent more in 2009-2010, down from the 6.9 per cent increase proposed in the draft 2009-2019 Ten Year Plan.

Many of the 1400 submissions to the draft plan called on Council to recognise the current economic recession and keep any rates rise to a minimum and this message was heeded by Councillors during three days of deliberations.

Based on the submissions, Council also dropped its plans to introduce capital value rating, wiped a proposal to have 10 per cent of wastewater charges paid by all ratepayers and cut the proposed increase in rubbish bag costs from $2.50 to $2. It is also planned to introduce a half-sized rubbish bag at a cost of $1.20.

The Council also largely reinstated the treasure chest grants for all communities, except Mercury Bay where the community board had specifically submitted that it did not want to see local rates increased to fund them. Thames and Coromandel-Colville will have the same as last year, while Whangamata has had its treasure chest total cut by $5000 to enable the swimming pool to be increased by this amount.

Even though Council cut a number of capital works projects and shifted others out to later years, to fund the capital expenditure programme without increasing rates, it will marginally exceed its self-imposed borrowing limits for both internal and external debt in 2009-10.

Council was told that its debt levels are very conservative compared with other local bodies, given the total $123.7 million debt for 2009-10 also includes internal borrowings of $58 million, while many Councils had similar borrowing limits relating to external debt only. It is forecast that Council will drop back under its borrowing limits by 2010-2011.

The proposed District wastewater charge has dropped from the current $938.48 to $916.38. As a result of Council's decision to credit investment income to the Uniform Annual General Charge (UAGC) rather than the General Rate, the UAGC has dropped from $416.97 to $321.73