Submission

Federated Farmers Submission for Waimakariri District Council Long Term Plan

We assert every project should be justified and funded appropriately.  We recognise Council has made remarkable progress towards achieving fairness and equity in its rating policies, and we appreciate the Council has targeted some of its rates towards activities that clearly benefit specific ratepayers more than others.

Although the Council states the average rate increase per year, across the District, will about 3 to 4% over the next 10 years, NCFF notes the average for most rural properties are closer to 7 to 9%.  This higher increase for rural properties might be acceptable if the charges will fund rural interests, but it appears from the LTP the vast majority of the capital projects concern upgrading and improving the urban zones to accommodate future growth. If that is the case, then the funding of these projects should be an equal mix of targeted rates and uniform annual general charges (UAGC), rather than just UAGCs.  

We would like to see the Council continue to access the Government’s Tourism Infrastructure Growth Fund, which supports councils looking to enhance their tourism sector.  We are also aware of the Tuawhenua Provincial Growth Fund, which was recently established to boost regional growth over the next three years.  We hope the Council will consider funding capital projects that meet the Fund’s criteria, and actively compete to draw a subsidy from the fund, thereby easing their need to increase rates.