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Bait and Switch from Len Brown

by Whaleoil on May 30, 2012

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I am starting to get more than a few emails like this. I suspect there is going to be a massive rates revolt on Len Brown and those who enable him.

I just found out that Len Brown has pulled another fast one with respect to rates increases… On our North Shore Property, the forecast rates increase is from $2,415 to somewhere between $2,490 and $2,560 – so, worst case it’s a 6% increase…

HOWEVER the sting in the tail is that this will no longer include Wastewater charges! (these amounted to $515 this year, and will in future be invoiced separately by WaterCare Services Limited)

So – the true increase in rates is from $1,900 to $2,490-$2,560. A massive 35% increase!

I suspect that there are many hundreds of thousands of North Shore residents who are not aware of this, and will be thinking everything is peachy until their quarterly water bill arrives and is six times higher than normal. (nicely deflecting the ensuing outrage away from the council)

I’m thinking that the sunlight disinfectant might be required here… Not only is Len Brown hiking our rates by 30-35%, he’s selling it to us as only an average increase of 3.5% and failing to publicly mention that he’s cutting the service significantly as well.

(yes, I’m pissed off)

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  • jabba

    challenge Lenny B and he will answer that he is looking into/at the issue at hand

    • Bunswalla

      His name should be changed to ‘The Mirror’ cos he’s always looking into it.

      • jonno1

        I used to work with a bloke whose nickname was “The Mirror Man” for exactly that reason.

  • Coventry

    Lol – Welcome to Auckland City !

    Wait till they see that WW Charges are charged at a % (75) if the incoming water use.

    Then there shall be tears.

    • Le Sphincter

      User pays

      Use less water or recycle the free water you get

  • Johnbronkhorst

    Hope you didn’t expect any different from loony leftie lennie!..He’s got to pay for that loopy rail…I mean rail loop, with something.

  • Blokeintakapuna

    Do us North Shore rate payers get a 35% increase in Council efficiency? 

    • Doc

      Or at least will we get actual rubbish bins like Auckland City have instead of having to purchase pay-per-use plastic trash bags that the neighbourhood pets rip to shreds every week?

      • Patrick Starr

        yeah, but you’ll pay seperately for that also. Prepaid bins and then a Targeted Rate for the $85m residual cost, that will be ON TOP of the 6% and other direct charges.
        The 6% is just general rates increase and does not include the move to more Targeted Rates

      • Le Sphincter

        The businesses are the ones generally getter lower rates
        here is a property in industrial onehunga

         Proposed 2012 rate  $17900-18,100

        last years rates $20.400

        This property  has capital value of $2.6 mill  ( up from $2.3 mill)

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OK7Y7PCSTJ27RCKZ2MGRSAYCTE NEIL

       Question – for North Shore – how much have you property values gone up in the last two years….? Might be another sneaky way to bring down housing costs -  tag your rates to the value of your property increase, not just the value?

  • Biggles

    And if you check out the projected waste water charges you will find an inrease there of at least 10% and more likely 20%.

    • jonno1

      And Watercare dropped their 10% prompt payment discount about 6 months again, then increased the wastewater rate as well…

  • Azza

    I find it interesting how this super city exercise was an Act Party initiative yet it’s Lefty Len that gets the blame.

    Then again ol’ Lennie doesn’t really help himself…

    • Salacious T Crumb

      The problem with that argument Azza is that Len is attempting the same type of grab and spend when he was mayor of Manukau, only now it is on a slightly larger scale. The MO is the same.

  • Engineer

    And the new train set is going to help everyone on the North Shore so much, that is why they get the honour of paying for it.

    • Le Sphincter

      You got the busway- and its proposed extensions
      Now its everybody elses turn.
      Banks supported the rail loop as a Mayoral candidate AND as Epsom candidate

    • Rockfield

      You will probably enjoy it more with your clothes off.

      R.

  • Hmmmm

    We left Devonport at the right time.  Well Auckland – you wanted a socialist – here he is – spending your money until you don’t have anything left.

  • Allyson

    When will these left wing losers learn we just want them out of our pockets.  Supercity politicians needs to lose their ambitions and concentrate on keeping the city clean and the roads usable. Get out of social engineering. Get out of education, Get out of climate change bollox, stop building expensive stuff we dont want. In fact just fuck off.

  • arnie

    Although I do not live in Auckland, I think this is a blatant case of double dipping surely if the are having a 3.6% approx. in Auckland it should only be on last years rates LESS last years water & waste water charges.

    • Coventry

      The issue being that the different councils pre-supercity had different rating systems, some included water, some included rubbish, others didn’t.

      Looking at our current WaterCare bill, figures are:
      99 days fixed charges @ $11.74
      Water 57.00kL at $74.10
      Wastewater 42.75kL at $173.39

      Total Bill for Quarter (99 days) = $259.23

      Previous quarter was $232.35, so our annual cost for Water/Waste Water is something in the region of $1,000.00 per annum – and yes, this is on top of rates.

      • Le Sphincter

        The water supply is cost recovery ?
        How else do you propose to charge for it ?

    • Le Sphincter

      Because they have a transition policy to limit the max rise to 10%.  It works both ways so some will not get decrease.

  • ConwayCaptain

    Loopy is about to solve the transport problems in Akl.  HOW???

    He will price Akl out of business and firms will move out to areas with lower rates, less traffic, cheaper premisesz etc.

    Now where can that be????

    How about the Waikato???  Problem is they have a bunch of nutters running the place who lost megabucks on V8 races etc.

    • Le Sphincter

      Business is getting reduced rates – strange but true
      290 Queen St was  $295 kNew rates $190-195k

      • Quintin Hogg

        Er, bits of business are getting reductions in rates. 
        We commercial rate payers in the burbs and in the mainstreet areas of the old city centres are getting rate hikes. 

      • Le Sphincter

        WHat areas ?
        I did numbers for industrial property in Onehunga – reduction
        and office building in queen st – big reduction
        The rate for these types of properties is uniform across city

        Some other areas that have gone from land value only to capital value, you should look at Rodney Hide. he wrote the law that said this was the method to use

  • Karl

    If the fine people of the North Shore think those increases are high, they should try running a business in Franklin … Some are greater than 100% increases.
    Of course that’s OK coz businesses don’t vote!

  • Landy

    Try moving to Waikato district.  Outer rural area, zoned rural.   No services.   No water, sewage, lighting, footpaths. 

    One bare piece of land, no house, two storage barns, a shed, just over a hundred acres in 5 titles, is charged over $9000 p.a. in rates (both councils put together) . 

    They don’t even have to upgrade roads, as those within several kilometres of this block are all covered by private agreement where Transit responsibility stops.

    Re-examination of assessment has been requested, but after some months and several enquiries is “still in the pipeline…” 

  • Le Sphincter

    The result dear Watson , is because the rick pricks have had a big rise in property value.
     Remember its was Rodney  Hide who chose the capital value system. ie  House AND land.

    North Shore previously used the land value only !

    But the tipster has not read the website properly. The rate will include a transition charge  which could be positive or negative, and has yet to be legislated for 

    This will bring his property into the 10% range.

    Epic FAIL from tipster

    • Doc

      Do you really believe that the transition charge will apply based on the 2011/2012 rates EXCLUDING wastewater charges?  I.e. in the example given, that the transition charge will cap the rates out to 3yrs at $1900+10%

      …far more likely that the rates will be capped to $2415+10% but sorry – you’ll now have to pay for wastewater separately.

      Bit premature on the FAIL call there…

      • Le Sphincter

        making it up accomplishes what ?

  • 4077th

    Brown can cram his rates increase with nuts. I for one will not be paying any increase. My property has declined in value according to my last QV statement and yet there is an increase in rates?? Jam it Len…I’ll go the distance with you in court, just try me!

    • Le Sphincter

      Industrial properties are getting lower rates – even with QV  increases.

      Its policy from Banks time to reduce rates for business and increase residential

    • Sthnjeff

      If you have a Mortgage you are stuffed I am afraid. The council simply claim unpaid rates from the holder of your mortgage who then add it to your debt.

  • kehua

    The Revolution is here children, so what do we do? Who will be the Joan d Arc  or will we just continue to post on Blogs?

  • Gazzaw

    So who are we all NOT going to vote for next year? It’s all about damage control for the next few months until Lenny realises that he has an election looming.

    It was largely the North Shore electoral turnout that let Len into the coop.

    • Engineer

       You mean that the North Shore didn’t bother voting, or that they split the vote between Banks and Craig?

      • Le Sphincter

        Brown had a crushing majority- what are you on about
        he had more votes than Banks and Craig combined, 234k to 212k

        What sort of engineer are you that doesnt check the data

      • Engineer

         Le Sphincter, I was asking Gazzaw the question.  Looks like you answered it, the answer is the North Shore got railroaded (heheh my best puns for a while).

      • Le Sphincter

        so being whiney  is the answer ?

  • logical

    The time has come to start organising for the next Auckland Council elections to get good intelligent canditates in place to replace Loopy Len and his band of looney lefties.The present situation is just Dick Hubbard all over again and worse.
     Loopy Len”s body language when he talks shows that it is all about him and nothing else !

  • Hang him

    Who’s going to run Lens train set, all you ever see on the news about Auckland is that the trains breakdown all the time, arriving late on not at all. Is Len going to turn into a Fascist as that was Mussolini’s only claim to fame, was he got the trains running on time, he also liked to look in the mirror.

    • Le Sphincter

      Ever been to the airport ?
      Anyway its a french company running the trains

      • Hang him

         French??!!, that means they will never run on time and cost 3 times as much as they should

  • parorchestia

    Sad t see that Loonie Len is as bad as Show-Boy Bob in proposing unjustified rates increases for loony projects like choo choos. 
    We need a law limiting increases in Council rates to the rate of increase in the CPI.  Didn’t Rodney propose this?

  • Guest

    Watercare Services in Auckland is changing to monthly water bills.  Rounding bill in July and then monthly charges from August 2012. 

    • Citizen Kane

      Remember how they allowed car reg fees to be paid in smaller lots, then increased them 200% in small increments over time. Maybe they think we wont notice increasing the monthly Water & WW charges by 10% a month.

  • Dumrse

    We left the Nth Shore 5 months ago.  We wont miss Len and I very much doubt we will ever look back…..

  • Urbanlodge

    Len Brown has been to the school of Peter Guerin of the Rotorua District Council, Nothing new there!

  • Karlos

    Whale, did Blokeintakapuna not want his name next to this one? With talk of ‘sunlight disinfectant’ and rates rising in the North Shore, followed by the deafening silence from Bloke on a topic that I’m sure he has more than a minor opinion on. The only thing missing from this was a ‘ctd’ followed by a second email!

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