Federated Farmers Submission on the New Plymouth Annual Plan 2016-17
Federated Farmers advocates for efficient local government, focused on the core responsibilities of delivering affordable public good services and infrastructure to its communities. In addition to growth of expenditure and its concomitant rate increases, farmers have a strong interest in the indebtedness of their councils. We base our arguments on the considerable cost of rates to farm businesses, in terms of the value and relative accessibility of ratepayer funded services to farmers, the rates levels on farms compared to other residents and businesses, and the failure of property value to reflect the incomes of farmers and their relative ability to pay.
For more information on this specific submission, please see the full submission