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\nAuckland Mayor Wayne Brown.
\nPhoto: MARIKA KHABAZI \/ RNZ\n<\/p>\n
Auckland’s mayor has hit out at the government’s rates cap<\/a>, saying the strategy “won’t work” .<\/p>\n The government is setting a target range of 2 to 4 percent increases – with councils having to appeal to a regulator if they want to go higher.<\/p>\n The cap would take effect from 1 January 2027.<\/p>\n Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown took aim at the policy.<\/p>\n “How else does the government think we’re going to pay for what Auckland needs and for things like the City Rail Link – which were the result of decisions made by previous governments and councils?<\/p>\n “Councils are faced with making decisions that involve significant investment and should not be restricted by government telling us what we can and can’t do,” Brown said.<\/p>\n He said imposing a rates cap on councils<\/a> ignored the insight local government had on their own budgets and infrastructure needs.<\/p>\n “I’m an advocate for getting value for money for Aucklanders. That means knowing the problem we’re fixing before we fix it. Putting a cap on rates isn’t going to solve anything. It will just defer it for a couple of years then ratepayers will be paying even more,” Brown said.<\/p>\n The mayor’s criticism came on the back of his proposal for the 2026\/2027 Annual Plan, which included a 7.9 percent residential rates increase<\/a>, calculated primarily, Brown said, to fund the operation of the city’s new City Rail Link (CRL).<\/p>\n “The main reason rates will go up next year is because we have to pay for the City Rail Link – a project the government is jointly responsible for. If they want a rates cap, we’ll end up with a CRL with no trains or drivers,” Brown said.<\/p>\n He said the cap would inhibit council’s ability to adjust rates in response the tri-annual property revaluations.<\/p>\n “A better solution is for government to provide us with the ability to transition in rates increases or decreases resulting from rating valuation.<\/p>\n “Or perhaps the government could start paying rates on their own properties,” Brown said.<\/p>\n