Rates and the inside story

• By Waikato District Mayor, Aksel Bech

The new rates bill from those readers living in the Waikato District looks a little different and I thought to take a few moments to explain why, and how we landed on this.

Water and wastewater services for our district became the responsibility of a jointly owned Hamilton City and Waikato District water entity IAWAI (Flowing Waters), as of July 1, and it is one part of why your bill looks different; charges for water are now listed separately on the same invoice.

You’ll see they show the annual amount, and it’s also broken down into the instalments you’ll pay.

We do know this has concerned people; but it’s important to note that the way fees are calculated for water and wastewater services hasn’t changed, and they are not new costs.

We know no one likes getting rates bills, and I – and councillors – worked hard to significantly drop the increase the previous council proposed.

The rates increase for 2026/27 is lower than central government’s proposed 4 percent rates cap.

We managed to come in with a general rate increase 2.8 percent (with average targeted rates, excluding water and wastewater, adding a further 1 percent for a total average of 3.79 percent).

The fine print

For those connected to the drinking water supply and wastewater services, we can state the actual values, and here the fixed charge increased by $142.20 (from $2,348.39 to $2,490.61 per year).

For semi-rural ratepayers who may have water supplied but have their own wastewater (septic tanks), the individual rates reflect this with a lower rate for water only.

And for those who do not receive water or wastewater disposal, there should not be a charge for this on your bill. If there is, or if you have any queries, please contact the council.

In Waikato District, we charge for the water you use (i.e. the volumetric charge), and treated water increases by $0.15 per 1000 litres of water (from $2.59 to $2.74).

If you compare these to Auckland charges, it’s important to note that Auckland also has a volumetric charge for wastewater, set at 78.5 percent of the drinking water usage for standard houses and 95 percent for apartments; this charge is often higher than the fixed charge.

All property owners pay rates to their local council, and these rates help keep the district running and fund the everyday services people often take for granted, right across our very large district.

This includes local roads, libraries and community hubs such as the one under construction in Pokeno right now, parks such as Reynolds Reserve in Tuakau, which opened this month, cemeteries, footpaths and cycleways, swimming pools, rubbish and recycling, and emergency management responses.

All these help shape the wellbeing of our communities.

Again, if you have any questions about your rates bill, then please call the council on 0800 492 452.