Simon says cap your rates – how will councils respond?

Simon says cap your rates – how will councils respond?

Analysis: With Christopher Luxon’s popularity – or lack thereof – under the microscope, it’s little surprise the Prime Minister would reach for some red meat to throw to voters. The long-anticipated cap on council rates increases unveiled by Luxon and Local Government Minister Simon Watts on Monday is nothing if not popular: a Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll in August found 64 percent in favour of rates caps and just 22 percent opposed, with net fav…

Central government hits local government with rates cap, suggesting upper limit of 4%

Local Government Minister Simon Watts unveils rates cap with a target range of 2% to 4% increases, saying ‘ratepayers deserve councils that live within their means’

Rates Cap Plan Recipe For Privatisation, Job Cuts And Higher Charges Says Local Government Union – PSA

The Government’s plan to cap council rates is a recipe for asset sell-offs, job losses and higher user charges that will hit households and communities harder than rates ever did. “Rates caps will backfire and hurt the very communities they are supposed to help,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi, which represents local government workers. “Rates caps are lazy politics that …