Thinking of submitting on the The Long Term Plan?

A reminder that the Wellington City Council LTP submissions close this Friday, so please take the opportunity to read the consultation document and have your say on the direction of the city over the next 10 years.  

In response to requests from members about our thoughts, we wanted to highlight a few areas of concern that we have and share our views on proposals that you may also be interested in commenting on. 

If you have any questions or want to discuss further contact Jason Carpenter, Policy and Advocacy Manager. 

1. Rates Differential

We are disappointed the Council has kept the commercial rates differential at 3.7 backtracking on its proposal to reduce the commercial rates differential to 3.25. The differential of 3.7 is the highest in the country, and leads to Wellington businesses paying a disproportionate amount of rates compared to other councils. High commercial rates punish business – depressing employment and driving our city’s GDP down.  

2. Downtown Levy Support

We support the existence of the Downtown Levy as a targeted rate to support CBD businesses, but think there needs to be much more transparency about what the funds are used for and their impact. 

3. Downtown Levy Input

Businesses that pay the Downtown Levy should have more input into what (some or all) of the funds are spent on to maximise their value for those that pay the levy.  

4. Council Should Consult with Business

More broadly, the Council is failing to consult well with business and we are calling for more visibility for business needs across Council, more direct involvement key decisions that affect us, and better communication about the impact of decisions.   

5. Measured Approach to Cycleways

The Chamber supports the objective to make Wellington a liveable and accessible, compact city but – while part of the mix - cycleways are not the only answer. The cost of cycleways and their impact on businesses needs to be part of the decision making, instead of only relying on qualitative information about cyclist safety. We support a more measured approach to cycleways that provide greater certainty to business with more understanding of the negative impacts and disruptions caused, especially when considering the contribution to rates increases.  

6. Three Waters

Key Proposal 1 – Investing in our three waters network: the chamber support the preferred option 3 for the full investment, but believes this needs to be coupled with more rigour in other areas where spending can be pared back or deferred.  

7. Waste Collection

Key Proposal 2 – waste collection: the Chamber supports the preferred option to fund the new waste services through a user-pays targeted levy as an equitable approach. 

8. Airport Shares

Key Proposal 3 – sale of the airport shares: The Chamber supports the Council’s preferred option to sell all of its airport shares and invest the proceeds in a Perpetual Investment Fund (PIF), however, we strongly recommend the use of targeted legislation to set up and govern the PIF. Legislation will ensure the original intended use of the funds is preserved and provide appropriate safeguards. 

9. User-Pays Principle

We continue to urge the Council to seek further revenue streams focussed on the user-pays principle such as the introduction of water meters.