Chief Executive Monique Davidson: Let's talk rates
Published on July 14, 2025
Rates invoices for the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year will be landing in letterboxes and inboxes soon.
In June, Horowhenua District Council adopted a rates resolution which signalled an average rate rise of 9.1% for 2025/26. This is lower than the 9.9% estimated in the Long-term Plan – evidence of our efforts to find savings wherever possible. It is still high though, and reflects the reality of the funding and financing crisis of local government.
Nobody likes to hear rates are increasing, we get it, but balancing the wants and needs of the community with affordability remains a challenge. We are doing our best to provide a good balance as we strive to do what we said we would in the Long Term and Annual plans.
Increased costs, Central Government reforms, and affordability pressures facing our communities mean it is as important as ever that we look for efficiency and effectiveness in everything we do.
Just like when household costs rise and you might look at cancelling your Netflix subscription, cancelling a kids after school activity or putting some things back on the grocery shelf, here at Council the increased costs we face mean we have had to go through our budget with a fine-toothed comb and find savings. We take this very seriously, and over the last year have had to make some pretty challenging decisions off the back of some challenging conversations.
Let’s be clear though, the funding and financing system of Local Government is broken, and the affordability pressures on our communities means something has to give. We either need to reduce some of the services we’re accustomed to, or enter a different conversation about the different ways in which we can fund and deliver the services our communities so dearly value.
With our Annual Plan 2025/26 adopted and a decision made on Local Water Done Well in recent months, Council now has more clarity as we face an ever-changing future.
On Wednesday 4 June, our elected members voted to join Palmerston North City Council and Rangitīkei District Council to deliver water services, as well as recognising Whanganui District Council and Ruapehu District Council as potential willing partners.
The rising cost of providing water services is one of Council’s biggest challenges, which is why partnering with other councils to gain economies of scale and mitigate the impact on our ratepayers is so important.
This decision gives us clarity and opportunities to reduce costs including having our three waters debt shifted from our balance sheet, but the work has only just begun. Our focus now turns to developing a Water Services Delivery Plan with our new partners to ensure that our water infrastructure is safe, fit for purpose, affordable, and Horowhenua residents will continue to receive the same high level of water services delivery as they have become accustomed to.
More than 85% of the rates increase this year can be attributed to the rising cost of water services. This is not the cost of providing new infrastructure for growth but the cost of continuing to supply our community with safe drinking water and dealing with wastewater and stormwater effectively and sustainably.
That is why our urban ratepayers will see a rates increase higher than the average, but many of our rural ratepayers will see little increase, and in some cases a decrease, as most rural properties are not connected to council-owned water, wastewater or stormwater networks.
When you receive your rates notice, take the time to understand your invoice more and drill into the detail of what you get for your rates. Reading a copy of our recently published Pre-Election Report is a great start.
Please remember though, Council isn’t just an institution. It’s made up of people who live locally too. Many of us are ratepayers ourselves, and we do this work because we genuinely care about our district and want to help it remain a fantastic place to live, work, and play.
Your rates invoice may feel like your only direct contact with Council, but every time you pour a glass of water, drive on a local road, or use your local library, you are able to do so because through your rates, you’re helping to build your community.
We will continue to look for savings while maintaining and improving our service delivery, because that’s the least you deserve Horowhenua.
Monique Davidson, Horowhenua District Council Chief Executive