Rate Increasefriday News Today

Waikato District Council proposed a 13.75% increase in general rates revenue required for the next financial year. 227 submissions on the draft 2024/25 Enhanced Annual Plan were received, with 50 submitters requesting in-person hearings.

The decision will mean an average annual rate rise of 8.9% across the city. Over the last two days, Councillors mulled over 5,690 submissions from the public – the most ever received on city proposals. These submissions provided feedback on Council’s 11 specific topics, plus other city issues. Following a three-day discussion, Council instructed staff to prepare a budget based on investing $2.5 billion on capital projects plus $3.7 billion in operating costs. In addition, Council resolved t...