LDR Report
Carterton ratepayers are likely to face an 11.6% rate increase after errors in the council’s Long Term Plan (LTP) are corrected. This figure, which is yet to be confirmed, is lower than the proposed 15.09% increase on which the community was consulted.
Approval of the plan and setting of rates were delayed after auditors found problems around how depreciation had been handled.
Auditors found the board had overstated depreciation charges on “short-lived assets” and continued to finance some assets with debt rather than using reserves.
Councillors met today in a workshop to discuss the findings and determine next steps.
“Going forward, we will only function as a cohesive council if we learn from our mistakes,” said Carterton Mayor Ron Mark.
He called on his fellow councillors to apologise for “running around town hogging votes and trying to force a meeting that I had said should not take place”, referring to previous accusations he made of an attempted coup to pass the LTP.
The LTP was originally scheduled to be considered for adoption on 26 June, but the decision was cancelled. Further meetings had been scheduled for early July, but these were also cancelled.
“The fact is that if the lobbying had been successful and we had held the meeting as certain people wanted and had approved that LTP in that current state, it would have been quite embarrassing for this council,” Mark said.
The councillors did not apologize and the workshop continued.
Chief executive Geoff Hamilton said the updated LTP document will be audited next month and ready for council consideration in September.
In the meantime, the council would be guided by Year 4 of its 2021 LTP, but rates could not be set until the new plan was adopted.
Hamilton encouraged people to continue with direct debit payments in the meantime as these would be credited to the taxpayer and “soften the impact” if the council moves to three tax instalments this year instead of four.
Ratepayers can contact the council with rate enquiries at [email protected].
– LDR is Local Democracy Reporting, local journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
