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Regional councillor sides with partner over rates hike
31.03.2006
By BELINDA FEEK
Horizons Regional Councillor Leonie Brookhammer is backing her partner - Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws - in the fight against the regional rates hike.
Mayor Laws said in yesterday?s Chronicle Horizons was planning on increasing rates by more than 50 percent.
Rural rate payers would get hit the hardest with a 51.8 percent increase, urban ratepayers 24.7 percent and commercial ratepayers 9.5 percent increase.
However, Horizons chief executive Michael McCartney said those figures were misleading and it would cost rural ratepayers $4 a week.
Urban ratepayers increase would be 36 cents a week.
Ms Brookhammer is urging disgruntled ratepayers to make submissions against the proposal.
?I implore Wanganui ratepayers who are concerned to contact me with their views or make submissions to the draft annual plan ? We can work to stop this proposed increase, if enough ratepayers make a stand.?
Ms Brookhammer said it would have been good to see some information on what steps Horizons itself had taken to make efficiencies.
Perhaps, she said, Horizons would like to show what efforts have gone into internal savings, restructuring, efficiencies and cost-control to try and save each ratepayer those few cents.
Some of the increase could be put down to an increase in the capital value of properties, but if the Wanganui District Council could face the same problem and plan a way around it, why couldn?t Horizons, she said.
http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/l...ondsubsection=
31.03.2006
By BELINDA FEEK
Horizons Regional Councillor Leonie Brookhammer is backing her partner - Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws - in the fight against the regional rates hike.
Mayor Laws said in yesterday?s Chronicle Horizons was planning on increasing rates by more than 50 percent.
Rural rate payers would get hit the hardest with a 51.8 percent increase, urban ratepayers 24.7 percent and commercial ratepayers 9.5 percent increase.
However, Horizons chief executive Michael McCartney said those figures were misleading and it would cost rural ratepayers $4 a week.
Urban ratepayers increase would be 36 cents a week.
Ms Brookhammer is urging disgruntled ratepayers to make submissions against the proposal.
?I implore Wanganui ratepayers who are concerned to contact me with their views or make submissions to the draft annual plan ? We can work to stop this proposed increase, if enough ratepayers make a stand.?
Ms Brookhammer said it would have been good to see some information on what steps Horizons itself had taken to make efficiencies.
Perhaps, she said, Horizons would like to show what efforts have gone into internal savings, restructuring, efficiencies and cost-control to try and save each ratepayer those few cents.
Some of the increase could be put down to an increase in the capital value of properties, but if the Wanganui District Council could face the same problem and plan a way around it, why couldn?t Horizons, she said.
http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/l...ondsubsection=