Where your rates go
More than 23,000 rate demand letters landed in Waipā letterboxes last week asking ratepayers for more than $73 million.
That will be just over half what the council needs to run the district for the next year with the rest coming from fees and charges, developers’ contributions and government subsidies.
And there was a bonus in the envelope when ratepayers opened it – a flyer from Waikato District Health Board with details of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Waikato.
A Waipā spokesperson said the DHB paid the full cost of inserting the flyer into the rates’ mail out but would not say how much. While it lightened the load on ratepayers, taxpayers ended up paying for it anyway.
Some Waipā ratepayers have still not paid their outstanding balances – $449,178.58 is overdue.
The 2021-2022 rate take is 4.6 per cent up on last year but low in comparison to other districts.
That is largely due to the district’s high level of growth which means developers will pay nearly $21 million in contributions.
But if the rates assessment and tax invoice which came in the post are full of jargon and terms you do not understand, fear not, the council has a page on its website with a video explaining what they are all about.
Plus, there are tips on easy payment options to lighten the load.
Canny viewers of their rates bill, particularly those in Cambridge where house prices have soared in recent months, will see their rates have been calculated on a capital value which bears little resemblance to the actual value.
That is because the last valuation of the Waipā district was done in 2019. Revaluations are done every three years, so a more realistic capital valuation is unlikely to be seen until then.
