Available here (pdf).  It consists of the usual waffle, plus the important details on what the council plans to spend  — and how it plans to raise the money.  The figures contained on page 15 are different from what has been stated elsewhere.  There is something wrong, and a small group of us are trying to find out what it is.

Update

This e-mail to Bernie Randall from the KCDC Rates Manager identifies the reason for the discrepancy from the LTP figures as the change to capital based rating. From a technical consideration, land is simply the unimproved site value; capital includes the value of improvements: the paths, drives, landscaping and buildings.

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Good Morning Bernie

I have been advised that you consider that the Council may have changed the Rates Methodology for the calculation of the 2016/17 Rates.

I can confirm that no change has been made to the Rate Types for the proposed Setting of the 2016/17 financial year.

In the 2015/16 Annual Rates we changed the Community Wards Rates from land value based rates to capital value, we merged the Regulatory Rate into the Districtwide General Rate and reduced the differential wastewater rate for those Rating Units with multiple toilets or multiple dwellings.

There is no general revaluation of the Rating Units in the Kapiti Coast District this year, therefore the increased expenditure in the Council’s 2016/17 budget will be directly reflected in the estimated rate increase of 4.6% for the average property. However, as the Council use a mixture of targeted rates for wastewater, roading and community facilities as well as the rates which are based on the property’s rateable land and capital value, the effect of the budget increase can vary because properties have a different mix of rateable valuations.

Properties with a higher than average land and/or capital value in most cases have a higher level of annual rates than those with lower rateable values. Therefore when the proposed increases to the 2016/17 Rates Types occurs more in the fixed Targeted Rates rather than the Land/Capital Value based Rates, the annual $ increases are in tighter range, approximate $70.00 to $130.00.

The percentage increase of a rate increase of $106.00 on a property of with an above average land/capital value is lower than an percentage increase of $95.00 on a property with an average valuation. For example the average property in Waikanae with a land valuation of $204,000 and a capital valuation of $400,000 will have an estimated rate increase of $106.60 (total estimated rate $2,367), would have a 4.7 per cent rate increase. Whereas a property in the Waikanae Ward with a lower land valuation of $115,000 and a lower capital valuation of $262,000 would have an estimated rate increase of $101.40 (total estimated rates $1,852.90), which is a percentage increase of 5.79%.

I trust this explanation will be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me directly if you wish to discuss this further.

Yours sincerely

Brent Waterhouse