Annual Plan

Rates increase for 2023/24

We’re aiming to strike the right balance between adequately funding Napier’s needs and ensuring the rates increase is manageable.

Rates have increased by 9.7%, in line with the rates increase cap for 2023/24 as set out in the LTP 2021-31.

However, Cyclone Gabrielle resulted in unforeseen costs. A 2% Disaster Recovery Rate was introduced to pay for cyclone related costs. In addition to the 9.7% rates increase, the total rates increase is 11.7%. More detail on the Disaster Recovery Rate is further down this page.

The average household rates increase is $342 per year, or $6.59 per week (including the Disaster Recovery Rate). Enter an address here to find out the rates for a specific property in 2023/24.

The rates increase has been driven by various factors including labour costs, operating expenditure and maintenance, insurance premiums and inflation. These increasing costs accounted for a 21.2% increase, but we reduced this through cost savings and loan funding of 4.3%.

Disaster Recovery Rate (DRR)

Cyclone Gabrielle has meant new costs for Council. These include rates remissions for cyclone-affected ratepayers, resilience planning and recovery costs.

To address this, we’ve introduced a recovery budget of $1.5 million. This is funded by a 2% Disaster Recovery Rate (DRR), which amounts to $59 for each household and business. This money is ring-fenced for cyclone recovery purposes.

It covers any gaps in insurance cover for asset damage, repair and replacement such as the Wastewater Treatment Plant. It’s a priority to repair and replace these assets so they are more resilient for future weather events. We'll also increase our stormwater network capacity so businesses can continue to operate and residents are safe from future flooding events.

The DRR also covers the cost of rates remissions or lost rates revenue as a result of the cyclone, and funding for an NCC Recovery Manager and an Emergency Management Officer to ensure we coordinate our recovery efforts with the Central Recovery Agency.

Although this rate wasn’t provided for in the Long Term Plan 2021-31, Council is able to set a new rate without community consultation if it’s needed to meet an unforeseen and urgent need and can’t be reasonably met any other way.

The DRR is in addition to the 9.7% rates increase, effectively bringing the overall rates increase to 11.7%.

Delay in the decision on our housing portfolio

In May 2022 Council agreed to loan fund the deficit for its housing activity, with a view to consulting on a rates increase in the 2023/24 Annual Plan to continue funding housing costs.

Council has decided to continue to loan fund the housing portfolio for 2023/24. We're developing a city-wide housing strategy and this will give us more time to explore how housing fits within this strategy. Consultation on this matter could be undertaken as part of the Long Term Plan 2024-34 process. Continuing to loan fund housing in 2023/24 also helps with our aim of a more manageable rates increase given the current economic climate. 

Re-phasing our capital plan

Historically, we have had an ambitious capital plan without the resources needed to deliver on it fully. So earlier in 2023 we took a close look at our planned projects to understand how soon they could be delivered. This helped us to decide how much budget to allocate to projects that can begin in 2023/24. Those which can’t begin this year have had their budget moved to the Long Term Plan 2024-34.

This meant we’ve been able to re-phase our capital plan for 2023/24 from $90 million down to $75.8 million. It’s important to note that capital budget has not been removed, nor have projects been cut. Rather, it has been re-phased into 2024/25 (the first year of the next LTP).

During the development of the 2024-34 LTP, we will again take a close look at all projects and budgets and decide which year in the LTP 2024-34 to apportion each project and its budget to.

Introduction of the Rangatira Revetment Targeted Rate

A new rock revetment and beach works is being built to restore and protect the Whakarire Avenue Reserve, nearby properties and significant heritage sites.

The Rangatira Revetment targeted rate is a fixed amount applied to rating units on the north side of Whakarire Avenue. This rate recovers the private funding component of the construction cost over the next 25 years.

Community Funding requests for 2023/24

Historically, requests from the community for funding have mainly been raised with Council as part of the Annual Plan consultation process, by way of a formal submission that would be deliberated on by Council at the Annual Plan hearings.

As there was no formal consultation process this year, we encourage individuals and organisations to discuss their requests by emailing csgrants@napier.govt.nz or calling our Customer Service Centre on 06 835 7579, who will direct requests to the right area of Council.

Find out how our plans like the Long-term Plan and Annual Plan fit together.