Whanganui manages a rates increase of just 2.2% - what was their secret - and why can't that be done in New Plymouth ?
There is hope - if we get the right Mayor and Councillors sitting around our Council Table after the election - we could be as successful as Whanganui has been in keeping their rates increase down to 2.2%.
The new Mayor in Whanganui after the 2022 elections deliberately set out to keep rates down - his main focus was ratepayers and reducing the amount rates were set to increase.
He has been successful. Read the RNZ story about this here:
We recently did a presentation to the NPDC from our Local Water Done Well submission. We presented with a group of other concerned ratepayers and groups, who were mostly very concerned about not being able to afford the continual yearly - large - increases in rates.
When submitters mentioned keeping rates down, at the end of their presentation, Mayor Holdom kept asking what would you have us do ? We can only either increase rates or increase debt.
At the end of our submission presentation we were asked the same question.
Our answer was - there is a third option avaiable to the Council - you could reduce your costs.
There was silence around the Council table.
The Mayor of Whanganui deliberately ran a campaign at the last election to bring in changes - to make sure rates increases were affordble. He managed just a mere 2.2% increase.
Who will be our new Mayor and Councillors who will bring about the same change in New Plymouth ?
We - the Ratepayers and Renters of New Plymouth - really want to hear from those Candidates in 2025.
Posted: Wed 16 Jul 2025