Ratepayers in the Western Bay of Plenty are demanding a rates freeze and a drastic pruning of the district council's spending programme as proposed in the Long Term Plan.

The Western Ward Resident and Ratepayers Association presented the demand with a petition of more than 2100 signatures as their submission on Thursday.

Norm Mayo, Selwyn Hill, George Van Dyke and Phil Bowyer say ratepayers are not happy with council spending plans. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

Residential rates in the district are already the highest in the country, and with the $30 million spending programme in the draft LTP, they are set to increase from 38-60 per cent over the life of the plan.

'Their long term plan has them spending another $30 million,” says association member Phil Bowyer, 'putting us a further $30 million in debt for non-essentials.

'Basically it's the wants of a few, like cycle tracks, a bigger library and a museum which has already failed once.

'They say they are only going to increase the rates by two or three per cent a year with a cap of five per cent,” adds Selwyn Hill.

'But over a ten-year period, that represents a 38 per cent increase in rates. And if you take the higher value of five per cent over ten years that's 68 per cent in total, because the interest rates are compounding.”

They collected 2100 signatures in ten days and there are more coming, they say.

The average Western Bay of Plenty District residential rate is $3,274 – higher than Auckland, at $2,636, and comparable districts like Queenstown Lakes ($2,420) and Manawatu ($2,566).

And according to the Western Ward Residents and Ratepayers Association, Katikati rates are so high that on average, people stay for only a few years before selling up and moving out.

'That's why there are so many real estate agents,” says Selwyn. 'We have a fifty per cent turn over every five years.

'They come in and they bowl out, because of the rates. Nobody asks the question when they buy a property in Katikati. Nobody asks ‘what are the rates?' Some people might, but the majority won't.”

The district council states in the Long Term Plan consultation document that it's facing a period of low growth, meaning the income from development will be lower than was expected when the infrastructure was built.

Without the expected income from development and subdivisions, the council looking elsewhere for the current $2.5 million per year shortfall on interest and loan repayments.

It began taxing rates income in 2012. But skimming off the general rate, the roading rate and increasing uniform annual charges on water, wastewater and stormwater, are not enough.

The council is faced with taking more money off income to pay the interest and debt – or facing increased rates in future to do the same thing.

The Western Ward Residents and Ratepayers says the response to the petition shows ratepayers are also challenging the council's proposed spending programme in the LTP.

They want proposed spending on the cycle trail and the heritage museum projects stopped altogether and other projects rethought.

Katkati's new library can be worked around by providing space in the fire station building in the centre of town – currently storing the museum's collection.

The demand on library services is for increased space for internet users, which can be accommodated in the fire station building which is central, and can be achieved without the need for a $2.3 million new building project.

'We had discussions with the mayor and the CEO in handing it over,” says Selwyn. 'Their reaction was, so?

'Council seems to have a foregone conclusion that they will just do what they want.”