Earlier this week Mayor Wayne Brown announced his budget proposal for 2023/24, promising a rate rise of 4.66% – which is below our current inflation rate of 7.2%. Though note that the increase in general rates is 7%, with the total figure proposed to be brought down by some cuts in targeted rates.
The rate increase and other parts of the proposal are in large part about plugging a nearly $300 million shortfall which has come about as a result of COVID pressures and more recent issues like interest rate hikes.
A lot of the discussion in recent weeks – and mentioned in the announcement – has been about the possibility of the council, as by far the largest single shareholder, selling its 18.1% stake in the Airport, which they estimate could raise around $2 billion and be used to pay down council debt.
