If a 13.6 percent average rates increase didn’t seem high enough, try 14.2 percent.

Another rates increase is likely as the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) Annual Plan goes to councillors to approve at their meeting this week (Thursday June 29).

The draft Annual Plan was consulted on from March to April, and 301 submissions were received - 103 of which were specifically from Wānaka.

The council staff report on the Annual Plan shows it now proposes an average rate increase of 14.2 percent, even after community representatives condemned the original increase (which was already twice as much as last year’s) during the Annual Plan hearings.

Read more: Proposed rates increase criticised at annual plan hearings

If councillors approve the increase on Thursday, the average rates increase of 14.2 percent after growth will not result in a uniform increase across all rate types and locations - for some local neighbourhoods it will be even higher. 

Average increases for Wānaka are: residential 14.04 percent, country dwelling 16.2 percent; Hāwea: 12.33 percent; Luggate: 13.61 percent. 

The differences relate to the services received (some townships do not have reticulated water and wastewater), and the capital values. 

QLDC CEO Mike Theelen had acknowledged the “tough proposition” that was the initial 13.6 percent rates increase, and said the council took a range of steps to prevent it from being even higher.

Read more: QLDC proposes double digits rates increase

The additional increase to rates is the result of a net operational expenditure increase of $649,000 since the draft annual plan, QLDC said.

$470,000 of this is to reinstate annual grants for Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs), Lake Wānaka Tourism and Destination Queenstown, whose funding had been reduced in the 2020/2021 financial year due to Covid-19; and to allow for the implementation of Destination Management Plans.

The other $179,000 increase is for additional resources for the council’s planning and development teams to improve service levels.

“We are very aware that economic conditions are tough and many are struggling with the cost of living,” QLDC mayor Glyn Lewers and chief executive Mike Theelan are quoted saying in the introduction to the Annual Plan. 

The plan notes that QLDC expects to receive a higher than forecast dividend from Queenstown Airport which would help offset some increases to ratepayers.