Rates
Approximately 49% of the City Council's income is from rates paid
by residential and commercial property owners. The rates are
distributed to properties according to a mixture of fixed charges
and charges according to a property's land value. The rest of the
City's income is from a range of user charges and central government
subsidies. Ratepayers are billed on a quarterly basis. The final day
for the payment of each instalment is the 20th of the second month
of the three monthly billing period. If payment is not made by this
date a 10% penalty is charged. Residential ratepayers on a low
income can apply for a rates rebate.
2008/2009 Rates
There is a 8.31% (6.95% Council controlled costs and 1.36% external levies) overall increase in Waitakere City Council rates for 2008/2009.
The first rates notice of the 2008/2009 year is issued on the 1st of August.
What do you get for your
rates?
From each dollar, Council spends
| 20.5 ¢ |
on wastewater (inner area only) |
| 15.4 ¢ |
on parks |
| 17.7 ¢ |
on roads and footpaths |
| 6.8 ¢ |
on leisure |
| 7.3 ¢ |
on libraries |
| 8.6 ¢ |
on policy development, partnerships and planning |
| 3.5 ¢ |
on city development, promotion and economic
development |
| 6.5 ¢ |
on stormwater |
| 2.8 ¢ |
on all other services |
| 3.6 ¢ |
on democracy |
| 1.6 ¢ |
on consents & field services |
| 0.5 ¢ |
on recycling and waste minimisation |
| 1.1 ¢ |
on resource management |
| 0.9 ¢ |
on emergency management |
| 0.6 ¢ |
on animal welfare |
| 2.6 ¢ |
on Auckland War Memorial Museum and MOTAT statutory
levies |
| |
|
|
$1.00 |
Total |
Waitakere City and Auckland Regional Council
rates
Changes to legislation mean that from July 2003, Waitakere City Council rates will no longer include an amount collected on behalf of the Auckland Regional Council (ARC).
Instead, the ARC will, from July 2003, send all property owners a separate rates bill.
The new Local Government (Rating) Act 2002, requires all local authorities to communicate clearly to ratepayers about how rates are spent. This is designed to help people achieve a greater understanding of how local government works and what it does.
In the past, because the Auckland Regional Council collected rates indirectly, through your Waitakere City Council rates bill it was not easy for ratepayers to understand what they were getting for their regional rates. The only information was the amount collected for the ARC which was shown on the
Waitakere City Council rates notice.
This changes under the new system. Every ratepayer in the Auckland region (from Rodney to Franklin) will receive an invoice from the ARC, together with information about how regional rates are spent
The ARC rates notice will be sent to the region's 450,000+ ratepayers
in July/August. People will be able to pay their regional rates bill in a variety of ways. Options include direct debit ; by cheque in a reply-paid envelope; by cash, cheque or EFTPOS, over the counter at any Post Shop; by internet/ telephone banking ; or by cash, cheque or EFTPOS at the ARC main offices in Pitt Street in Auckland City.
Regional rates cannot be paid for at the Waitakere City Council rates collection offices.
The rates enquiry line at the ARC is (09) 366 2000 or you can email
rates@arc.govt.nz. Regional rates fact sheets can also be found on the ARC
website -
www.arc.govt.nz.
Rates Rebate
If you're a homeowner paying rates and on a low income you may be
eligible for a rates rebate for 2008/2009.
Contact us for
advice and to request an application form. Ensure you have details
of your Auckland Regional Council rates.
Fill out your application form which will arrive in the post or
you can collect one from Council or your local library.
Bring the completed form back and have it witnessed by allocated
council staff or library staff.
We will process your application and notify you of the outcome
within approximately 4 weeks.
The rebate calculation is based on your level of income vs the level
of rates. Rates for Waitakere City Council, the Auckland Regional
Council and your water rates bills issued between 01 April 2007 and
31 March 2008 are added together when assessing your application.
Forms available from
Waitakere Central, or your local
library.
|
