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: Hastings District Council researches rating formulas 
8 May
Research is underway in an effort to find a simpler system for working out who pays what rates.
Currently the Hastings District Council has two separate rating areas, urban and the plains, and rural, with formulas to work out the rates for each area.
But Chairperson of Council’s Rating Review Sub-committee, Cynthia Bowers says the current formulas are very complex and out-dated.
“Our objective is to develop a rating system that is easy to understand and explain, is simple to calculate and is fair to all ratepayers. The current system has served us well but it is time to look to the future and develop a system that is less complex.”
Ms Bowers says council staff plan to look at local authorities with a similar make-up to Hastings, and examine what methods they’re using and if they’d work here.
She says the challenge is to find a less complex model that doesn’t lead to a huge shift in the rating burden from one area to the other.
Council staff will report their preliminary findings back to next month’s rating review sub-committee meeting.
Cynthia Bowers says there would be public consultation before any changes were made.
She’d like to include any possible changes in next year’s annual plan for public comment, but until further research has been done it’s unclear whether that’s a realistic timeline.
For more information:
Cynthia Bowers
Ph: 8709852 or 0274 432 999
