Growth – Costs of growth – who pays?

You have heard from me about the parlous lack of any Auckland Council infrastructure planning or provision for Rodney’s growth. The Mahurangi Community Planning Group (MCPG) wants to step up, with the local board’s support, to engage all parties in our communities and fill that gap, starting with a pilot for the Warkworth Town Centre.

But the planning will mean nothing without funding and council’s commitment to invest in the infrastructure needed.

Developers are providing self-contained subdivisions to offer new housing, and you would think council would have provision in its 10-year Plan to fund the expansion of council assets and facilities to support that growth. But no! We are not rated a Priority Investment Area (PIA). Milldale’s new homeowners had to pay a Special Infrastructure Payment as council couldn’t fund infrastructure assets.

Rodney rates are being siphoned off to pay for expenditure in other areas and none of the development contributions (DCs) collected in Rodney are going to fund infrastructure investment here. At only five per cent of Auckland’s population, Rodney is held to ransom by the other urban councillors.
Council consulted on DCs up to $119,000 per housing unit, but backed down to a maximum of $72,000. In Rodney its only $20,000.

So outside the PIAs, council will spend $8.9 billion during the 2024 to 2034 Long Term Plan period (not in Rodney), with only $1.5 billion coming from DCs. Council’s other funding (mainly borrowing and rates) will have to cover the shortfall. Guess who will pay?

Council will be looking to persistently increase our rates by more than inflation to help finance infrastructure investments.

Growth is not paying for growth. Rodney is paying for the rest of council’s growth!

Like it or not, if we want to expand and improve our assets and facilities so they keep pace with more people, someone must pay. Leaving aside more user charges for visitors and tourists, under the current structure, it can only be current ratepayers or developers.

From 2027, levies and targeted rates can (and must) be used to recover money for this infrastructure here from new builds, or our rates will continue to climb.

Our new Rodney Local Board will have to approve new targeted rates to cover the costs of development planning, and for the money to expand and upgrade our transport (roads, parking, services) stormwater, parks, reserves, halls, toilets, playgrounds, community facilities and so on.

The local board will have to get behind what Rodney communities want, get council’s commitment, obtain funding and get the work done. The first opportunity will be in commenting on Plan Change 120 before Christmas, then in next year’s Local Board Plan, which must, as a minimum, reflect the community’s expectations for the Warkworth Town Centre development.