Welcome to the blog of Shore Can

Welcome to the blog of Shore Can.

Over the next few months a dedicated group of energetic North Shore citizens will set forth in an attempt to win places on the North Shore City Council and community boards. Our policies and ideals will be very simple: cap rates, end frivolous council spending, and return the North Shore City Council to its core responsibilities of rats, rates and rubbish. Keep out the rats, keep low the rates and keep the streets , beaches and environment clean of rubbish.

During the last few years the North Shore Council has, like many councils in the Auckland region, forced unsustainable increases on local ratepayers. Frankly, these increases are not only shocking, but are also highly damaging to the local economy.

It is my view that the process of collecting rates has practically become corrupted. Perhaps local governments have seen exorbitant tax takes from the Labour government and thought they would get a piece of the action.

The proposition I want to raise is this: why should rates percentages increase at the same time as a property's capital value increases? When the value of real estate rises the rates go up anyway because rates are assessed on capital value. But the North Shore City Council, along with many other councils, increase the rates percentage on residential properties at the same time. They're double-dipping.

There should be no increases based on increased capital value. Simply because the landowners are gaining in wealth (if they are at all) is no reason for the Council to grab its share. Rates must be capped to the rate of inflation plus population increase. One reason rates are collected is as a 'punishment' for using infrastructure such as stormwater and sewerage. Simply because a property's value increases does not mean that infrastructure is affected on that property. There is no logical reason for this double-dipping.

Utilising rates for revenue gathering is also unfair. Councils are monopolies and they use their monopoly powers to have practically a sole revenue gathering method from property owners. It is going to end up in the future that a larger percentage of the population will end up paying a larger percentage of rates as home ownership ratios decrease.

Rates are in the agenda this election. Shore Can will campaign on capping rates to inflation plus population change. If the council wishes to increase rates by more than this amount then it must ask the people first in a poll. Families and businesses have to tighten their belts and so should the North Shore City Council.

That is democracy and that is what Shore Can stands for.