FAQs - Rates

Yes. Growth in the number of rateable properties increases the number in which the rates requirement is shared. This is included in our calculations and reduces the overall % increase in rates. They also contribute a significant amount towards the cost of infrastructure.

The burning of rubbish in the urban zone recreates a nuisance and often contains harmful toxins (plastics) and so is a prohibited activity. This air pollution would be reported to the regional council for investigation and prosecution.

The burning of waste materials in rural areas is a permitted activity. There are certain restrictions on what cannot be burnt.

You can view the Horizons Regional Council website for more information.

Council uses borrowings (debt) to pay for new infrastructure for growth and increases to levels of service initially. This ensures future generations (including new properties) pay their share of the cost of the new assets which they will use.

The renewal or replacement capital programme is paid for with funding we have collected from rates over the life of the assets (depreciation funding) and from subsidies which are mostly from Waka Kotahi. All of the growth-related capital expenditure is planned to be funded from development contributions and $110m is assumed to be received from development contributions over the 20 years of the LTP.

The ratepayer who has the postponement will be responsible for paying their own interest costs and costs of administration, this will form part of the agreement with the ratepayer before the postponement is confirmed. The interest costs and costs of administration will not be funded by other ratepayers.

The ratepayer who has the postponement will be responsible for paying their own interest costs and costs of administration, this will form part of the agreement with the ratepayer before the postponement is confirmed. The interest costs and costs of administration will not be funded by other ratepayers.

For rates such as Water, Wastewater and Stormwater rural ratepayers don't pay if they're outside of the serviced area. 

Under the adopted changes to Solid Waste rating, rural ratepayers will pay towards services such as landfill remediation, waste transfer stations and waste minimisation, but only pay for kerbside recycling services if they're within the agreed service area.

Our kerbside recycling goes to the Awapuni Material Recovery Facility (run by Palmerston North City Council) to be sorted into various categories and then bailed for shipment and local processing.

Much of the HDPE (High density polyethylene) plastic is recycled by Aotearoa NZ Made. Cardboard and paper are reprocessed by Oji in NZ for reuse. Our glass bottles are also sent to Awapuni for shipment to Visy in Auckland, where the glass goes to be made back into new bottles.

Rates are a tax on property and form the major component of funding available for local authorities to finance their activities. Rates are assessed on properties within the provisions of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002.

Horowhenua District Council sets two sorts of rates: targeted rates, which fund specific activities, and general rates, which fund everything else.

For more information please visit the how rates are calculated section of our website.

For more information please visit the rating information section of our website, or call 063660999 or email enquiries@horowhenua.govt.nz.

Council encourages residents to reduce their waste to landfill by providing a fortnightly kerbside collection of recyclables. For those that don't have a kerbside recycling collection there are community Mobile Recycling Stations (MRSs) and waste transfer stations that accept recyclables.

Council also encourages residents to use its rubbish bags which can be brought and used only when residents require them. The price of these bags is set at a low rate to encourage residents to support the service and direct more recyclable waste into Council-provided services. If residents fully participate in these services, resident waste disposal costs will reduce.

Since August 2023 there were 29 Council Workshops and Meetings held in the lead-up to adoption of the LTP, including only two publicly-excluded Workshops. Together these informed and confirmed Council’s decisions about the issues that needed to be addressed through the Long Term Plan.

During the development of the LTP there was also extensive consultation and engagement. Early engagement took place between 16 October to 5 November 2023, checking with the community about the proposed key themes, and any other matters that should be included. Feedback received showed 96 percent of respondents agreed with the proposed themes.

At the Council meeting on 13 December 2023 Council approved the scope of the Long Term Plan. That enabled consultation material and budgets to be prepared. It was agreed that the LTP address three key issues:

• focusing on the basics;
• being prepared for growth and future focused; and
• reviewing the Waste Management & Minimisation Plan.

On 6 March 2024 Council approved the consultation document. Built around the scope in the above, the consultation document identified and sought feedback on these key issues:

• What services are needed for our community
• Managing Waste
• Sharing costs – who pays for what.

The other policies and documents Council sought feedback on through the consultation process were:

• Development Contributions Policy
• Significance and Engagement Policy
• Draft Fees and Charges Schedule 2024/2025.

Formal consultation took place from 15 March to 15 April 2024. We sent a letter to each ratepayer to let them know about the consultation and encouraged people to have their say. During these four weeks there were 34 events in Levin, Shannon, Foxton and Manakau, including five online events. We received a total of 499 formal submissions, including a number made by video. Council consulted widely and engaged with a much more diverse cross section of our community. An example of this is the 40% increase in submitters aged 25-35 years compared to the Long Term Plan 2021-2041 Amendment.

Following the submission period Council heard oral submissions on 1 and 2 May 2024. Deliberations followed on 22 May 2024. The final Long Term Plan presented for adoption the decisions Council made during the deliberations meeting.

On 26 June 2024 Council made its decision to adopt the Long Term Plan 2024-2044, and by doing that, adopted all of the components (eg policies, strategies and statements) that make up the Long Term Plan proper.