'Defensible but unpalatable': Road rate aims to put repair costs on higher users

Carterton's council will consult on a targeted roading rate that could increase forestry rates by 800% on average.

It would also result in hefty rates increases for dairy farms.

The proposal sought to collect roading revenue from ratepayers in a more proportionate way and followed an assessment by Morrison Low Advisory that found dairy, forestry and pastoral farming collectively made up more than 68% of Carterton District Council-funded, non-weather related, roading costs in the Wairarapa town.

These costs were currently shared across all ratepayers based on the capital value of properties.

The decision to consult on the proposal was supported by all councillors except Brian Deller who said more work was needed to show the real impact dairy farms had on the roading network.

He said he had received comments from ratepayers asking how the council could even consider this proposal and some stated they would not pay the increases if the proposal was adopted by council.

Mayor Steve Cretney said the proposal raised the question of whether forestry would continue to be a viable industry if companies paid for roading costs through a targeted rate.

Councillor Steve Laurence said the flip side was that "granny down the road has been subsidising international forestry companies for such a long time".

Deputy Mayor Grace Ayling said the council's proposal was "holding up a mirror to the forestry sector saying this is what it looks like if you are going to cover the cost of damage to the rural roads".

"It's not a pretty number," she said.

"This is a lot to stomach but maybe that's the reality of it. It's defensible but unpalatable."

New Zealand Forest Owners Association chief executive Dr Elizabeth Heeg said an increase of this magnitude raised questions over whether costs were being allocated fairly.

"Any substantially higher rating burden needs to be supported by sound evidence of actual road use, including the frequency and nature of heavy vehicle movements and how different land uses benefit from the roading network," she said.

"That evidence needs to be transparent and robust, so all ratepayers can have confidence that the proposed rating system is fair and proportionate."

She encouraged forestry owners and operators affected by the proposal to engage with the consultation process and provide evidence on the potential impacts.

Carterton resident Angela Yeoman, who is the policy manager for Masterton District Council, said the council needed to consider that forestry and farming industries contributed to roading costs via road user charges (RUCs), a portion of which was returned to councils via NZTA subsidies.

"As equity, fairness, and transparency are key drivers of your rates review proposals, the modelling that sits behind the proposals should to my mind incorporate both the rates and RUCs paid," she said.