Harnish’s comments come after the Government decided to cap annual council rate increases at 4%.
Local Government Minister Simon Watts announced the cap on August 25, saying it would ease cost-of-living pressures and get councils “back to basics”.
“For too long, ratepayers have been hit with steep and unexpected rates increases, adding pressure to household budgets at a time many New Zealanders are already feeling the squeeze,” Watts said.
Under the legislation, councils will be required to keep annual rates increases within an initial target range of 2-4%, the minister said, “putting a brake on excessive increases and giving ratepayers greater certainty”.
The cap will take effect in 2029, but councils will need to “consider” the cap from next year.
Harnish – whose rates went up $400 this year and around $300 last year – said a rates cap could have helped home owners 10 years ago.
But right now, he believes the move is an election ploy.
Harnish said he understood that councils were “not immune” from rising costs, with roads costing more to maintain, wages increasing and materials costing more.
However, if the increases were necessary, “then show us why”, he said.
“Because rates aren’t simply another bill.
“We can’t shop around for a cheaper council. We can’t change providers.
“We can’t decide that this year we’ll simply go without council services.
“If you own a home, you pay the rates you’re told to pay – and increasingly, that bill appears to be rising considerably faster than the ability of ordinary New Zealand households to pay it.”
Northlanders’ rates payments are expected to climb to $374 million in the coming financial year – a 10% increase on the $340m collected in the current financial year.
The Far North, Kaipara and Whangārei district councils have proposed rates increases of between 5% and 10.1%.
Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper said he recognised that rising household costs were “placing pressure on many families and ratepayers”.
However, any rates-capping proposal needed to “carefully balance affordability with councils’ ability to respond to local needs and invest in essential infrastructure and services”, he said.
“A fixed cap will likely add further complexity and may limit councils’ ability to respond to specific community needs, particularly during periods of high inflation, significant investment or periods of high growth.”
Kaipara Mayor Jonathan Larsen said he supported the goal of keeping rates affordable.
“Every council should be focused on delivering the services their community needs at the lowest practical cost,” Larsen said.
“We’ve already shown that in Kaipara.
“Earlier this year, we went back through the budget and brought the average rates increase down from 8.9% to 3.9% after growth because we knew so many households were under pressure.”
Local Government New Zealand [LGNZ] warned that rates capping would have “real impacts” on the essential infrastructure and services councils delivered.
“Introducing a 4% cap when councils’ costs are increasing at a much higher rate will hamstring … councils’ ability to maintain investment in the services and infrastructure that people rely on them to provide,” LGNZ president Rehette Stoltz said.
In May, the Northern Advocate reported that years of cumulative increases forced 73-year-old Oromāhoe ratepayer Gail Olliver to sell her lifestyle block, which she had believed would be her forever home.
Far North District Council did not respond to questions before deadline.
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues.