Word from our Mayor Kirsten Wise
Kia ora koutou.
Over the course of our Three-Year Plan community consultation, we’ve heard a lot of feedback from residents on social media about various topics and issues affecting us all.
Without doubt, the number one issue concerning the community is the perception that Council is spending money unnecessarily, resulting in the large, proposed rates increase. I’d like to clear up a few misconceptions about this.
There have been many comments that if the new library and proposed staff office accommodation project were to be cancelled, this would significantly reduce our rates.
The library project is a ten-year project. It began in 2017 with a strong mandate from the community, made known to us through various consultations. Seven years into this project, we are now almost on the cusp of beginning construction.
The $58 million allocated to this project will be funded by generations of ratepayers through long-term loans, not just you and me. To cancel this project now would not significantly reduce the proposed rates rise and it would not resolve our current financial constraints. Furthermore, it would mean seven years of money already spent would be wasted. It would go against the clear direction given to us by the community, that Napier needs a fit-for-purpose library. Future councils would inevitably have to start again.
The proposed office accommodation project will save ratepayers money in the long term. Again, this is an intergenerational project, funded through long-term loans. Once restrengthened and reoccupied, ratepayers will no longer have to foot the bill paying market rental on three office buildings in town. We would continue to own a strategic property asset. In the long term it makes financial sense, and to cancel the project now would not significantly impact rates. It equates to an average of 79 cents per week per rating unit, over the three years of our plan.
The third misconception is that the rates increase is because we’re significantly increasing staff wages and salaries. 11.57% of the 23.7% increase is because of labour costs. The main driver of this is not salary increases. It is largely due to Ocean Spa now becoming a Council facility. This increase in staff on our payroll has increased our salary and wage costs.
Additionally, we’re making some changes to our remuneration policy. Historically, Napier City Council has paid lower salaries and wages compared to similar sized councils. We have paid the price for this in losing good people to other organisations. It’s important that we recognise qualifications and experience with pay packets that are fair and reasonable. We report on our salary and wage bands in our annual reports.
Go to napier.govt.nz and use the search term #annualreport
Aside from labour costs, the rates increase is being driven by inflation, increased insurance premiums and borrowing costs.
Please make yourself heard through our formal submissions process. This is the only avenue of feedback that councillors are legally able to consider when making decisions on the ThreeYear Plan. Go to sayitnapier.nz by Friday 26 April.
Napier's Three-Year Plan 2024-27
Submissions are closing soon.
Submissions close on Friday 26 April at 5pm. More details on the consultation topics and the submission form are available at sayitnapier.nz.
If you need assistance or would like a copy of the full document, pop in to see the friendly team at our Customer Service Centre, or at Napier or Taradale Libraries.
Make yourself heard at a Hearing
During our Three-Year Plan consultation campaign, we’ve encouraged everyone to make a submission to be heard. Did you know you can go one step further, and attend the consultation hearings?
The hearings are when our councillors meet to discuss all the feedback received from the community. Residents wanting to take part are allocated a time slot to speak at the hearings for ten minutes. This is an ideal way to provide more detail on your submission. You might wish to present with a group of residents on a certain topic. You could present your thoughts and ideas using presentation slides, or deliver a speech, or simply ask questions of councillors.
If you want to take part in the hearings, there is the option to let us know when you make your submission. You will then be contacted to arrange the day and time.
The Three-Year Plan hearings will take place on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 May at the Napier War Memorial Centre. You can also watch the hearings live on fb.com/NapierCityCouncil.
Consultation topics
The following information outlines our plans to build Napier's firm foundation for a sustainable future.
Completing a submission is the only way to be heard formally by Council.
Annual average rates increase/decrease figures below are per rateable property. Multi-year projects will have ongoing impacts as projects progress. Visit sayitnapier.nz to view a table showing the full rates impact over the next three years. All figures in this document are inflated against BERL LGCI forecasts.
The future of Council housing in Napier
Costs to provide council housing have increased a lot recently. The way we provide housing has become financially unsustainable for our community. We’ve been looking at different options to deliver council housing, and we would like your feedback on two questions.
Q1. Should we continue to deliver our current council housing by increasing rates and borrowing, or should we shift our focus to retirement housing only and sell our social housing villages?
Q2. If we shift to a focus on retirement housing (our preferred option), how can we deliver this in an effective way?
Napier City Council office accommodation
Our ‘back-office’ staff have worked from several buildings in town since the old Library Tower on Station Street was vacated in 2017 due to safety concerns.
This building is owned by Council, and we have been thinking about whether our staff could move back to that site, either into a new building, or after strengthening and refurbishing the existing building.
How our preferred option would affect your rates
2024/25
+$12.31 (+0.4%)
=$370,396 total cost to ratepayers
2025/26
+$12.85 (+0.4%)
=$386,850 total cost to ratepayers
2026/27
+$13.43 (+0.5%)
=$404,034 total cost to ratepayers
How our preferred option would affect your rates
2024/25
+$5.03 (+0.17%)
=$151,387 total cost to ratepayers
2025/26 +$33.92 (+1.15%)
=$1.02 million total cost to ratepayers
2026/27
+$83.53 (+2.84%)
=$2.51 million total cost to ratepayers
Having staff work in several buildings is inefficient. It has separated different teams, making it harder for them to work together and communicate. It has also increased costs through having to pay rent to landlords. We want to strengthen and redevelop the Library Tower so our staff can move back there.
Building up our community resilience
The impact of Cyclone Gabrielle brought us unexpected costs, so we introduced a Disaster Recovery Rate for 2023/24. This money was set aside for cyclone recovery.
Our recovery from the cyclone is ongoing, and we must be ready for future events, which comes at a cost. We need to build up savings to pay for future emergency events.
We want to keep the Disaster Recovery Rate, (renaming it the Resilience Rate), so we can thrive no matter what the future holds.
A new approach to managing Council’s investments
We own investment assets worth more than $160 million. These include assets like sections being developed for sale in Parklands, residential and commercial property, and cash.
We’ve been looking at how we could manage some or all these investment assets as an investment portfolio for Napier. Our preferred option is to form a Council Controlled Trading Organisation to manage the investment portfolio so we can become a more financially sustainable council.
Reviewing our fees and charges
We’ve reviewed the fees and charges of all Council userpaid services for 2024/25. We do this each year to ensure we are recovering some operating costs through user pays. The standard increases match the Consumer Price Index.
We are facing increasing financial pressure from things such as rising costs. We’re proposing increases to some fees and charges that are higher than the 5.6% Consumer Price Index.
A change to how we fund some activities
In 2023, we carried out an independent review of our business and tourism activities to see if any could operate without rates funding. Council supported the approach of transforming three activities into Councilowned commercial businesses from 1 July 2024, with the objective of being financially self-sustainable.
million total cost to ratepayers
+$89.55 (+2.57%)
million total cost to ratepayers
+$26.58 (+0.9%)
total cost to ratepayers
How our preferred option would affect your rates
For all years of the Three-Year Plan -32.25 (-1.10%) =$970,542 total benefit to ratepayers
How our preferred option would affect your rates
For all years of the Three-Year Plan
No impact on rates
These are Napier Conferences & Events, Ocean Spa and Kennedy Park Resort. Until these businesses become financially self-sufficient, they will operate at a loss, which is currently funded through rates. We want to support these three businesses in a way that doesn’t impact rates. We are proposing to do this using loans, for a maximum of three years.
your rates 2024/25
impact on rates 2025/26
cost to ratepayers 2026/27
How our preferred option would affect
No
+$23.26 (+0.79%) =$700,000 total
=$800,000
our preferred option would affect your rates 2024/25 +$85.90 (+2.45%) =$2.16 million total cost to ratepayers 2025/26 +$88.26 (+2.52%) =$2.23
2026/27
How
=$2.27
Napier ANZAC Services 2024
We remember them each day, we formally honour them on Thursday 25 April, 2024.
6AM 6AM 8:45AM 11AM
Napier Dawn Service, Napier Soundshell
Taradale Dawn Service, Lone Pine Cemetery, Puketapu Rd, Taradale.
Taradale Memorial Service with wreath-laying ceremony, march from Taradale PaperPlus to Taradale Clock Tower (service starts at 9am).
Napier RSA ANZAC Civic Service, Clive Square Cenotaph
Hastings Street, Napier 4110, Private Bag 6010, Napier 4142 | t 06 835 7579 e info@napier.govt.nz napier.govt.nz
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Your Council
Cr Keith Price Ahuriri Ward Cr Greg Mawson Nelson Park Ward
Cr Nigel Simpson Taradale Ward
Cr Graeme Taylor Taradale Ward
Cr Maxine Boag Nelson Park Ward
Cr Sally Crown Nelson Park Ward
Cr Juliet Greig Nelson Park Ward
Cr Chad Tareha Taradale Ward
Cr Ronda Chrystal Taradale Ward
Cr Hayley Browne Ahuriri Ward
Cr Richard McGrath Onekawa-Tamatea Ward Deputy Mayor Annette Brosnan Onekawa-Tamatea Ward Mayor Kirsten Wise