A CITY FOR US AND HOW THEY VOTED

Last week two rather prominent Wellington citizens came down to Council to protest the rates that their Oriental Bay properties are now attracting. They have my sympathy as I know that these two residents are local identities in the Bay with family connections to the homes they continue to live in. One of the underlying causes of the rather steep rate rises is the shift in the rating differential from business to residential rates. For some time I have argued that the commercial sector must pay its share of the cost of running the city. Commercial rates are able to be passed on and deducted as expenses; no such opportunity exists for residential ratepayers. Hence the residential rate should be much lower than the commercial rate.

At the last Council meeting that a rate vote was taken on the continued shifting of business rates onto residents' rates bill, this is how the vote went.
Those voting in favour of business were:
Mayor Prendergast
Deputy Mayor Shaw
Cr McKinnon
Cr Wain
Cr Morrison
CrArmstrong
Cr Foster
Cr Goulden
Those voting against were:
Cr Pepperell
Cr Ruben
Cr Ritchie
Cr Gill
Cr Wade-Brown
Cr Cook
Cr Ahipene-Mercer

The change to the rates differential in favour of business was passed by one vote.