Porirua City Council
Rates and revenue
The work of local government is funded mainly by property taxes in the local area, known as rates. This makes up around 60% of council expenditure, with the rest coming from user charges, investment income, regulatory fees and roading subsidies. Councils can also borrow money to spread the cost of large investments such as infrastructure over a longer period of time.
Rates and revenue
The work of local government is funded mainly by property taxes in the local area, known as rates. This makes up around 60% of council expenditure, with the rest coming from user charges, investment income, regulatory fees and roading subsidies. Councils can also borrow money to spread the cost of large investments such as infrastructure over a longer period of time.
Advocate for better tools and information for councillors to track the design, risks, delivery and cost of capex projects.
Lobby government for fairer funding models including the return of GST on rates.
Work with communities to review levels of service to enable community involvement in trade-offs.
Keep rates low by cutting wasteful projects and focusing on essential services ratepayers rely on.
Review underused council assets and reinvest funds into infrastructure such as roads and water.
Scrutinise every dollar of spending to guarantee maximum value for ratepayers.
Balance the council's budget to deliver sustainable rates and long-term savings and limit borrowing to investment in core infrastructure.
Explore and advocate for initiatives to diversify revenue streams as the current rates burden is almost exclusively residential rates.
Prioritise long-term investment over short-term cheap solutions because valuing cost over quality loses money in the long run.
Keep rates sustainable by cutting wasteful spending.
Prioritise funding for essential services and infrastructure.
Seek government and external funding for major projects.
Create robust cost-benefit plans for projects with clear risk profiling for budget and timeline overruns with easy accessibility.
Introduce a plan to address debt and a communication platform for the community to monitor and hold council to account.
Introduce capping rates to inflation, making council focus on expenditure and only allow increases through community referendum.
Accurately increase fees and charges so that the user pays for the services without the ratepayer picking up the slack.
Commit to a consistent rating model without fluctuation between double and single-digit increases.
Manage debt suitably to maintain headroom for the unexpected while maintaining a balanced budget.
Advocate for better tools and information for councillors to track the design, risks, delivery and cost of capex projects.
Lobby government for fairer funding models including the return of GST on rates.
Work with communities to review levels of service to enable community involvement in trade-offs.
Keep rates low by cutting wasteful projects and focusing on essential services ratepayers rely on.
Review underused council assets and reinvest funds into infrastructure such as roads and water.
Scrutinise every dollar of spending to guarantee maximum value for ratepayers.
Balance the council's budget to deliver sustainable rates and long-term savings and limit borrowing to investment in core infrastructure.
Explore and advocate for initiatives to diversify revenue streams as the current rates burden is almost exclusively residential rates.
Prioritise long-term investment over short-term cheap solutions because valuing cost over quality loses money in the long run.
Keep rates sustainable by cutting wasteful spending.
Prioritise funding for essential services and infrastructure.
Seek government and external funding for major projects.
Create robust cost-benefit plans for projects with clear risk profiling for budget and timeline overruns with easy accessibility.
Introduce a plan to address debt and a communication platform for the community to monitor and hold council to account.
Introduce capping rates to inflation, making council focus on expenditure and only allow increases through community referendum.
Accurately increase fees and charges so that the user pays for the services without the ratepayer picking up the slack.
Commit to a consistent rating model without fluctuation between double and single-digit increases.
Manage debt suitably to maintain headroom for the unexpected while maintaining a balanced budget.
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