Kaipara District Council halves proposed rates rise amid cost of living increases
Kaipara District Mayor Jonathan Larsen (inset) and his councillors have agreed to halve the planned average rates rise in their district from 7.9% to 3.9%, citing cost-of-living pressures facing ratepayers this year. Photos / Sarah Weber Photography, File
A council north of Auckland has slashed its planned rates rise, with its mayor saying cost-of-living pressures mean “we must be realistic about what people can afford”.
The Kaipara District Council agreed at an extraordinary council meeting yesterday to halve the projected average rates rise from 7.9% to 3.9% (after growth) for the 2026/2027 year.
Mayor Jonathan Larsen and councillors agreed to fund roading renewals of up to $2.45 million with debt instead of general rates, allowing them to cut the average rates rise.
The move comes after the Auckland Council last week locked in a 7.9% average rates rise, with two-thirds of the Super City’s elected members voting down a last-minute push from some councillors to wind back the hike to 5.9%.
The increase is almost entirely because of the $235m needed each year to run the City Rail Link (CRL) – set to open in the second half of this year – with Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown telling councillors that if they didn’t pay for the rail link this year, “you’re just going to pay for it next year”.
“The CRL budget was out of control before I arrived. We’ve got this down to nought plus a railway. It’s easy to say how terrible things are ... as if we didn’t know.”
Larsen said that in his district, savings had been found to pay off debt needed to reduce the rates bill.
“Having this raised so late in the process is unusual, and I want to acknowledge the extra work done [by council staff] to identify further savings”, he said in a media release.
“We will look to utilise those surpluses staff have found to pay off the debt in future years.”
He raised the notice of motion for the rates cut last week because “we know many in our community are feeling the pinch with rising living costs”.
Increased fuel prices this year added to cost pressures that ratepayers were already feeling.
“This is about taking practical steps to provide some relief where we can … we still need to invest in our district, but we must be realistic about what people can afford.
“This decision reflects that balance.”
Council staff would now work to finalise the Annual Plan 2026/2027 based on yesterday’s decisions, with the plan expected to be adopted by elected members late this month, he said.
The Kaipara District Council has previously come under fire over the rising cost of infrastructure, with some Dargaville residents questioning whether an 8.3% average rates rise under former mayor Craig Jepson last year would deliver long-overdue improvements to the town’s ailing infrastructure.
The Herald also reported this week that the Auditor-General was investigating the council after weaknesses were found in its procurement processes.
Larsen welcomed the independent public spending watchdog’s review – which will look at the council’s procurement, contract management and governance practices – saying they were “always looking to improve processes”.
Kaipara’s council was also investigated during a 20-month Auditor-General inquiry last decade over cost overruns in Mangawhai’s community wastewater scheme, leading to a seven-year government intervention in the council that ended in 2019.