Gore District Council Seeks Public Feedback on Proposed 21.4% Rates Increase

Gore Council proposes 21.4% rate increase for 2024/25 annual plan.
Plan focuses on realistic goals, addressing debt and infrastructure needs.
Public consultation opens April 29 with submissions due by May 17.

The Gore District Council is calling for public consultation on the 2024/25 draft annual plan that would see an average rise by 21.4%.

Councillors this evening were unanimous in signing off on the draft, as staff and elected officials sought to trim a budget initially costed at a 31.7% increase.

Mayor Ben Bell said a major factor in Gore’s early advocation to defer the long term plan, which had been due this year, was to get clarity from central Government and the Gore community.

The Council decided to produce a realistic plan for the next year rather than an unrealistic and optimistic plan for 10 years.

“Unfortunately, a more certain outlook isn’t necessarily a brighter one,” Mayor Bell said.

“Due to consistent under-investment, we find ourselves in an unavoidable position where we must fully fund our drinking water assets.”

“We have inherited a large amount of debt and are remarkably close to our debt ceiling, therefore it is crucial we pay this down despite experiencing the heightened effects of interest payments” Mayor Bell said.

Interim Chief Executive Steve Parry says it was abundantly clear that council was facing a demanding task to deliver a budget that was responsible, sustainable and acceptable to the public.

“Like most other councils around New Zealand, the Gore District Council has discovered that there is nowhere to hide when faced with steeply rising costs, soaring depreciation levels, and large Three Waters infrastructure investment and upgrades.

“The forecast rates increase, along with other large increases around New Zealand, suggests that funding of local government in New Zealand is in dire need of being overhauled.

“But until national reform occurs the Council has no alternative but to look to its ratepayers for the funding required to meet legislative outcomes,” Mr Parry said.

Both the consultation document and supporting documentation will be available online with hardcopies available from the Council office at 29 Bowler Avenue, Gore and The Mataura Library and Service Centre, McQueen Avenue, Mataura.

Submissions open on Monday 29 April and close on Friday May 17.

A hearing for those who want to have their say will be held on Tuesday 28 May before the adoption of the annual plan on Tuesday 25 June.