Council is looking at how it funds its activities and who pays under an extensive review of its Revenue and Financing Policy.
Ruapehu Mayor Don Cameron said that the review was a critical part of ensuring that council is able to fund its activities while ensuring that our rating and funding arrangements are fair, equitable and sustainable.
As part of the review, council will consider such things as who benefits from any given council activity and develop a set of principles that will underpin its future revenue and financing arrangements, he said.
This includes looking at our different rating and funding options such as general versus targeted rates, district wide rating, user-pays charging and the use of rating differentials, etc.
Since council last reviewed its Revenue and Financing Policy with the 2012-2022 Long Term Plan (LTP) there have been some significant changes in council's activities and operating environment.
This has included such things as; changing government expectations, the push towards shared services, our involvement in Accelerate25 and regional economic development, new water standards (drinking and waste), increasing forestry pressure on local roads, community demand for township revitalisation, etc.
In 2012 council dropped Land Value rating in favour of Capital Value rating along with moving some Targeted Rates to a new District Rate, introducing a new Special Interest Rate for such things as Visit Ruapehu and main street revitalisation, and a rejection of Rating Differentials.
Capital Value rating had been recommended by the independent government inquiry into council rating (The Shand Report) that found that Capital Value rating exceeded Land Value rating on almost every criteria and principle of fairness and equity and was widely supported locally including by some sector interests such as Federated Farmers.
Mayor Cameron said that in addition to the changes in council's activities and operating environment another complicating factor will be the Quotable Value (QV) property rating revaluation in August this year.
The QV revaluation alone will cause a shift in the rating incidence and impact on how much anyone pays in rates.
Council needs to weigh-up and consider all these issues and decide on what rating arrangements will provide the most fair, equitable and sustainable Revenue and Financing Policy for funding council activities, he said.
Any proposed changes to the Revenue and Financing Policy will be publicly consulted on as part of the 2018-2028 LTP consultation next year.
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