Differential rating holds domestic rise to 7.5p.c.

Press, 24 May 1977, Page 1

Differential rating holds domestic rise to 7.5p.c.

City Council reporter

The average home-owner in the Christchurch City Council’s rating area will have his rates bill increased about. 7.5 per cent this year, to pay for increases in council spending and in the budgets of other local authorities. Although total rates for the city and ad hoc bodies will be up nearly 18 per cent from last year, the council’s new differential rating policy will put more of the load on commercial and industrial properties. Those properties will pay an average rates increase of 43 per cent, to help redress imbalances on singlefamily residential properties caused by the 1975 revaluation. Considered alone, Christchurch City Council rates show a 20.2 per cent rise, which includes the general rate, special rates, library rate, and water rate. In that section, under differential rating, the increase for an average single residential unit is only 2.2 per cent, compared with a commercial/industrial rise of 64.48 per cent. Council officers said that it was difficult to project a true average rates rise. Most rates affected by the differential policy were on land value. Residential properties with a high land value content of the total capital value will pay lower than average rates; those commercial and industrial properties in the same position will pay higher than average rates. Differential rating does not apply to the mopey needed for city buses, drainage, or Catchment Board rates. The council intends to spend about 564.3 M this year, compared with $52.5M in the last financial year. Of that, SI9M will affect the rating accounts. About SI.9M more is needed from rates this year to cover increased spending. Much of that spending comes from the Municipal Electricity Department, which plans to spend S32M this year, compared with $24.6M last year. A slightly higher proportion of council spending will be spent on community services (from 1.57 per cent to 1.88 per cent), and the combination of administration, works, and traffic (48.08 per cent to 50.55 per cent). Proportions drop slightly in such other areas as the library. Town Hall, parks, swimming pools, and waterworks. The Mayor of Christchurch (Mr Hamish Hay) said that the "average” ratepayer would probably pay about $2OO a year under the new estimates, or about $4 a week for city

services, which was not bad value for the money. He said that councillors “don’t hear nearly so many moans” about the $25 a week the average taxpayer pays. “I think we can claim that most people derive more direct benefits, at a reasonable cost, from their annua! rates bill than they do from other forms of taxation, about which they tend to be far less vocal,” Mr Hay said. About 16 per cent of all residential ratepayers also took advantage of the rates rebate scheme, he said, and the Government should consider opening the same scheme to those who paid rent, because “clearly there is an element of rates reflected in the rent." Labour councillors were vocal in their criticism of council under-spending when there was important work left undone. The sur-

plus from rating accounts, carried over to his year, was about $475,000. Councillor David Caygill said that it was a “massive surplus,” which could have been used. Sir Robert Macfarlane said that it could have been used in kerb and channelling work. “This money may well affect the council’s cash position,” Cr Caygill said, “but it has not helped the ratepayers one little bit.” Mr Hay disagreed, and said that ratepayers would benefit from the credit carried over because they would have less money to find for programmes this year. “It was largely a case of higher than anticipated revenue, rather than underspending,” Mr Hay said. “So let’s not get too emotional on this figure. Don’t think the ratepayers aren’t getting the benefit.”

“This is a scandal,” Cr Caygill said of the failure to spend up to estimates by such a large amount. “I want to know how it happened.” Cr John Burn said it had to be seen in perspective. The under-spending was only about 5 per cent of the total estimates last year. “I quite agree that the last council wasn’t very good at underspending by 5 per cent or any other amount,” he said. Cr Peter Dunbar said that the City Engineer’s Department had underspent by only about $32,000, out of a budget of SB.SM. Councillor Mollie Clark said that the underspending had been allowed “so we could have a glossy estimates picture. It is a deliberate attempt to dress up the books.” Mr Hay said that anybody who believed that needed a lesson in accounting. A S7.BM loans programme was approved, including $5.2M for public housing, $748,000 for street works, $260,000 for the New Brighton pedestrian mall and associated' offstreet parking, $150,000 for a branch library in Papanui, and $450,000 for library land purchase at the new central city site. The five-yearly capital works programme would be reviewed soon, council officers said. Cr Caygill said a specific anomaly caused by not planning ahead far enough was placing the Papanui library money before a higher priority, a branch library for Shirley. A last-minute Citizens’ Association proposal to put $50,000 on the estimates — to provide an annual supply of rubbish bags to commercial premises — was greeted by surprise. It had never been mentioned in public before. “We can’t even consider the proposal if we don’t set the money aside,” Cr Burn said. “It would just be bringing commercial ratepayers up to a parity with residential ratepayers.” There were proposals for cutting back projected spending increases on footpath sealing and maintenance, but those were voted down. Queen Elizabeth II Park and the Town Hall will cost the ratepayers about SIM this year. The Q.E.11 Park deficit will rise about 27 per cent, to about $457,000. That rises to $664,346 with the addition of $207,226 in loan servicing. Most, of the shortfall will be met with a $575,510 transfer from M.E.D. funds: the remainder will come from rates.