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EDITORIAL: The calculators and spreadsheets of finance staff in our local government offices are working overtime.
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced councils to rewrite their annual plans and recalculate their proposed average rates increases for the 2020-21 financial year.
It’s a momentous task they will be scrambling to complete by the June 30 deadline.
But in these unusual times, local government is no longer just a manager of our roads, footpaths and water supply.
Christchurch City Council chief executive Dawn Baxendale says a zero rates increase will be unrealistic as the city is already facing a $33m deficit.
Councils are being expected to come up with initiatives to lower the economic fallout of Covid-19 in each of their communities. There are a few levers councils can pull but it’s not going to be easy.
Lowering annual rates increases is the most obvious, to reduce the annual bill property owners must pay to councils.
But Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford has urged councils not to slash rates in response to the pandemic. He wants councils to balance their books and invest in new projects alongside the Government, to get the economy going again.
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