Big Decisions To Be Made At January Council Meeting Regarding Rates

Mayor Nobby Clark has a big challenge ahead of him this year, proposing rates increases of just 2.3% - among the lowest of all councils in the country.

A report from him will go to the Invercargill City Council for its first meeting of the year in late January, proposing that the increase be kept in line with inflation.

“Such rates will avoid unnecessary pressure on many families and businesses, at a time of cost of living pressures.”

Management have initially recommended the rates increase be between 8.5% and 10.5%.

The low rate increases will mean a reduction in the level of some services around the city, and also the use of personnel costs such as consultants, contractors and legal services.

If Mayor Clark gets his 2.3% wish Invercargill will potentially be in line for one of the lowest rates increase across the country for 2025-2026.

Neighbouring districts last year had much higher increases (both Gore and Central Otago were 21%).  

The new Mayor in Central Otago Tamah Alley and councillors told staff in mid December they wouldn’t accept the proposed 23.4% increases for 2025-26, and were looking at lowering them down to around 11% by halving the depreciation on water services.

Nobby told whatsoninvers.nz founder Mike Sanford last week in 90 seconds with the Mayor that one of the critical issues for the year was that they could not afford rates over 10%.

“Single parent families are struggling; they cannot afford the rates the way they are now.”

He said the cost cutting measures to achieve that were not proposed in the traditional way, and they also needed to get more investments across the line.

He used Donovan Farm as an example of a land bank that had been sitting there for two years waiting on a decision.

“And we’re not getting any traction on that.  It needs to be a priority and if we don’t we’re going to have a wall.”

Spending $750,000 a year on consultants was another “outrageous” cost they couldn’t repeat.

“We need to take some risks on that and if we don’t get it right then we don’t get it right.”

A decision on rates will be made before it takes effect in July 2025.