Comparisons complicated
Providing a meaningful comparison between the current year's actual rates and those proposed for the coming year is complicated by the effects of the recent city-wide property revaluation.
The new capital values were done in August last year and come into play on 1 July - the start of the CCC's 2005/06 financial year. Because properties have been revalued and there have been changes to both the relative total worth of each sector (residential, business and rural) and the comparative value of each property, straight-line comparisons between the years is misleading.
At the individual residential property level, values have gone up by about 50 per cent. City-wide, the residential sector now makes up a larger part of the total worth of all city property, rising from 72.5% to just under 75%. The worth of the total business property pool has dropped from 24.8% to just over 23% and the rural property sector has stayed at about 1.4%.
"The rises in the residential sector - people's houses and flats - outstripped rises in business and rural properties," says Geoff Barnes, the Council's funds and financial policy manager.
"The effect of that is the residential sector will now incur more of the total rates than the business sector. Because of this change, straight-line comparisons with last year would be misleading. Ratepayers should compare the rates due for their own property from a recent rates demand, with the chart (at left) showing proposed rates for the new valuations.
"So, for instance, under the old valuation the average house was worth about $164,000 and its owners paid $990 in Christchurch City Council rates. That average house's new valuation will be about $260,000 and, if the draft annual plan is approved, it would be in line for $1077 in rates from 1 July.
"Of that increase, $33 or 3.3% is the actual rate increase and $53 is due to the impacts of the valuation change," Mr Barnes says.
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