Proposed Revenue and Finance Policy
Consultation has concluded
The proposed Policy is now open for feedback!
Greater Wellington (Greater Wellington Regional Council) is proposing to make changes to the Revenue and Financing Policy.
The Policy has been reviewed to keep it up-to-date and fit for purpose for our ratepayers. While this policy affects everyone in the Wellington Region, our proposed changes only effect Wellington City ratepayers. However, anyone is welcome to provide feedback through this process.
Consultation Period: 19 March – 22 April 2024
What is the revenue and financing policy?
This Policy is required by the Local Government Act (2002) and demonstrates how we will fund our activities and the funding tools for ratepayers such as general rates, targeted rates, fixed charges and levies etc. as well as the use of government subsidies, fees and user charges etc.
What you need to know
| The General Rate for Wellington City The differentials (different input of rates amount for different rating category) within Wellington City were introduced in 2019. This change was to take account of the significant up and downward movements in rates Wellington City was experiencing with residential property value rising much faster than business property values. And, the demolition and/or damage to many commercial buildings following the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake and the conversion of further office buildings to residential.  The following proposal affects Wellington City only. All other territorial authorities in the Wellington Region already pay an equal share of the General Rate (the rates everyone contributes that fund activities that have region-wide benefits) based on property capital values. |
The Proposal | ||
We propose to remove the differentials, returning the General Rate back to an equal share among the rating categories (CBD, business, rural, and residential) in Wellington City with their share based on Capital Value (CV).  | Activities that utilise the General Rate as their funding method have region-wide benefits with no particular rating category benefiting significantly more or less than others. Therefore, it’s appropriate that all ratepayers contribute fairly. Business categories will see their share of the general rate factored like residential and rural, based on CV. | Disadvantages Residential and rural rate payers will return to paying slightly more as their share of the general rate will no longer be offset by the business categories. The average increase will be approx.
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The Current situation | ||||||||||||
Wellington City currently has a differential applied to their general rates:
| Council can no longer justify a meaningful difference in the benefits received between the rating categories, therefore there are no benefits to the keeping the differentials. | The Wellington CBD and businesses rating categories pay a larger proportion of the general rate on top of their already higher portion based on the capital value of the properties.  | ||||||||||
Other amendments to the Policy
Policy Structure - One of the outputs of the policy review brief was to improve readers’ understanding of the Policy, therefore the structure of the Policy was changed to collate both the funding mechanism and the rationale for each activity. Some more policy context was also included in the introduction section so readers can understand more about the significance of the policy.
Climate Change - In the ‘Regional Partnerships and Strategy’ section, Climate Change has been added to offer transparency for how Greater Wellington funds our climate change team and services.
Transport Analytics Unit - In the ‘Regional Partnerships and Strategy’ section, the Transport Analytics Unit (TAU) activity has also been added to offer transparency for how Greater Wellington funds a specific function of regional transport. The TAU is a joint programme between Greater Wellington, Hutt City Council, Porirua City Council, Kāpiti Coast District Council, Wellington City Council, and central government (Waka Kotahi). Waka Kotahi contributes a third of the funding, as well as matching council contributions.
Environment Restoration Programmes - Environment restoration programmes were previously known as ‘Land Management’, which included Farm Plans, Farm Environment Plans, Wellington Regional Erosion Control Initiative and
advice. This has now been adapted to suit the new Environment Group who deliver the services. Environment Restoration programmes will operate under criteria that will determine property-specific grant rate. The criteria used in determining appropriate grant rates will be aimed at maximising the effectiveness of the programmes.
Priorities will be identified through catchment context, community values and desired outcomes, including water quality, biodiversity or climate change adaptation, where a high priority activity will receive high general rate grant support. The Ministry for Primary Industries is the main funder for this programme of work which is set out in their funding agreement.
Nursery Operations - In the conservation activities section, the Akura (nursery) conservation centre has been changed to nursery operations. This is because Greater Wellington is planning for more resources to provide planting to fulfil its restoration goals as well as its flood protection and environment restoration requirements. There are proposed expansion plans allowing for more plant production.
Public Transport – the Fees and Charges contribution has been decreased from 30 to 25 percent. This
is because fares were behind inflation which meant they were not generating enough revenue to maintain a 30 percent share. In February 2024, Council agreed to increase fares by 10 percent to catch up to inflation, however this is still not enough to maintain fees and charges revenue at 30 percent.
How you can Have Your Say!
The easiest way to provide us your feedback is to click below.
Feel free to write your feedback to us, and provide the following – your name, the name of your organisation or group (if you are submitting for them), and whether you request the removal of your personal contact details from any publicly available copy of your feedback. If you wish to be heard at the hearings or want us to contact you, please provide us with your contact information.
| Email | Post | Drop it off at one of our offices: https://www.gw.govt.nz/your-council/contact-us/office-locations/ | ||
| rfp@gw.govt.nz | Revenue & Financing Policy PO Box 11646 Wellington, 6011 | 100 Cuba Street, Te Aro Wellington City, 6011 | 1056 Fergusson Drive Upper Hutt City, 5140 | 34 Chapel Street Masterton, 5840 |
If you would like to discuss this Policy before you provide any feedback, please email us at rfp@gw.govt.nz and we will set up a time with you to chat.
Hearings on this Policy are scheduled to take place in late May 2024.
How we’ll use your information:
This information statement explains to you how we deal with any personal information collected during the Revenue and Financing Policy consultation.
What information do we want, and how will we use it?
During the consultation process, we ask for:
- Your first and last name (mandatory)
- The name of your organisation or group, if you are submitting for them
- Your email address or phone number, if you indicate you wish to make an oral presentation
- Your feedback on the proposed Revenue & Financing Policy
- Whether you request the removal of your personal contact details from any publicly available copy of your feedback.
When you make an oral presentation, we will document your name and the key elements of your presentation. If you do not provide your email or phone number, we cannot contact you if you wish to make an oral presentation.
Purposes of collection and use
Greater Wellington will use the collected information to:
- Identify your feedback and your supporting oral presentation (if you make one)
- Make your feedback and documented oral presentation publicly available (see below)
- Prepare a Council report that includes aggregated analysis of feedback
- Contact you to:
- Clarify any aspect of your feedback or oral presentation
- Arrange an oral presentation in support of your feedback (if you request this)
Public availability of feedback
Greater Wellington treats all feedback received through its public consultation processes as public information. As such, we:
- May be required to release all or part of your feedback, and our documentation of your oral presentation, if a request is made under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
- Will consider removing your personal contact details from any publicly available copy of your feedback if you request this removal in your feedback
- May choose to publish feedback, including on the Greater Wellington website, in full or as a summary. Your contact details will be excluded from website publication.
Using your information
We will only use the information provided to us:
- For the purposes we collect that information (see above)
- For other reasons permitted by the Privacy Act 2020 (e.g. with your consent, for a directly related purpose, or where the law permits or requires this use).
Sharing your information
See public availability of feedback above.
Who's Listening
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Email rfp@gw.govt.nz