Ratepayers will likely fund their portion of Tauranga’s $306m civic precinct through a government levy.

The ratepayer contribution to the precinct named Te Manawataki O Te Papa is capped at $151.5m.

The public has expressed their preference to use an Infrastructure Funding and Financing (IFF) levy to fund this.

The levy would be paid via the rates bill over 30 years.

According the Tauranga City Council website the levy for a median value residential property is estimated to be $107-$128 for ratepayers and $368-$440 for commercial ratepayers. It was estimated to increase about 2 per cent a year, up to the cap.

Te Manawataki o Te Papa, meaning the heartbeat of Te Papa, will include a library and community hub, civic whare (public meeting house), exhibition gallery and museum.

It will be located on the site of the former council chambers and library, between Wharf Street and Hamilton Street in the city centre.

Upgrades to Baycourt and Tauranga Art Gallery, along with the landscaping of public spaces and improving Masonic Park will also be part of the project.

Tauranga City Council called for submissions in September on whether to use the levy or fund it through a rate funded loan.

Of the 301 submissions received, 189 supported using the levy, 84 did not want to use the levy and 28 didn’t provide a response to the option choice.

The commission decided to proceed with the levy option at a council meeting on Monday, but will not make the final decision until March 2024 when the IFF levy proposal has been developed.

Commission chair Anne Tolley said two or three generations will benefit from the civic precinct to should be paying for it.  Photo: Alisha Evans/SunLive.

Commission chair Anne Tolley said this was a sensible approach.

“It’s good that we're not committing to a deal here. We want to see the whites of the eyes … on what that deal looks like before we make the final decision.

“We still want to make sure that it's a good deal for the ratepayers.”

The intergenerational nature of the project came through in submissions, said Tolley.

“This is a big project and two, possibly three generations will enjoy the benefit of it and should be contributing to the payment.

“I was really heartened by the number of submissions that understood that.”

Around 36 percent of submitters didn’t support the project. The reasons included the affordability for ratepayers and the council, and a preference for the council to fund other priorities in the city.

An artist’s render of the $306.3m civic precinct Te Manawataki o Te Papa. Image: Supplied/TCC.

Tolley said these were “some of the same old naysayers who don’t want to spend any money”.

“[They’re] quite happy to let centre city die and look like something out of a Western movie, with the tumbleweed tumbling down through the main street.

“I do recognise some of the points that submitters made about debt, and the visibility of debt.”

They needed to be transparent that the levy was debt, said Tolley.

One of the problems for local government was a large percentage of debt was tied up in paying for or underwriting growth, she said.

That restricted council’s ability to fund other things in the community, said Tolley.

“Local government is severely constrained by that.”

The council will inform the submitters about Monday’s progress before making the final decision in March next year.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.