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Rodney ratepayers contributed nearly $2.45 million towards Auckland Council’s natural environment and water quality programmes in the last financial year, although exactly how much was spent in the district has yet to be revealed.
Auckland Council figures show that properties in the Rodney Local Board area contributed $1.94 million through the Natural Environment Targeted Rate and a further $511,575 through the Water Quality Targeted Rate in 2025/26.
The combined total was $2,448,277, excluding GST.
Residential property owners paid an average of $46.87 for the natural environment rate and $12.38 for water quality, while farm and lifestyle property owners paid an average of $73.69 and $19.47 respectively. These figures include GST.
The two targeted rates were introduced in 2018 to increase council investment in environmental protection, restoration and improving water quality across Auckland.
However, the council has not provided a figure for how much of the money collected in Rodney was spent locally.
General manager environmental services Samantha Hill says the targeted rates fund regional programmes, with benefits extending across local board boundaries.
“These targeted rates allow council to deliver significant environmental and water quality programmes,” Hill says.
“As these are regional investments, services and projects such as possum and weed control are planned and delivered regionally, across multiple land types and local board areas.”
She says a breakdown of what the rates have delivered in each local board area will be available next month.
In Rodney, projects funded through the Natural Environment Targeted Rate include pest fish control in Lakes Tomarata and Rototoa, aimed at improving water quality, and possum control and monitoring in Dome Valley.
Funding also supports ongoing pest plant and animal control in regional parks, including Tawharanui, and contributes to pest control on private land with high biodiversity values.
This work is aimed at protecting important habitats and wildlife corridors for threatened species, including bittern and kiwi.
Water Quality Targeted Rate funding supports the Hoteo sediment reduction project and the Waterway Protection Fund, which includes priority catchments in Rodney. Previous funding rounds have also supported restoration projects, particularly in the Matakana catchment.
Other initiatives include the regional Close the Gap programme, which operates in Rodney, and Safeswim water quality monitoring at beaches including Omaha, Goat Island, Tawharanui, Snells Beach, Algies Bay and Wenderholm.
Hill says the targeted rates also support iwi and community-led environmental protection projects that have both regional significance and local benefits.
The forthcoming local board reports are expected to provide a clearer picture of what Rodney residents are receiving in return for their targeted rate contributions.
