Horowhenua District Council wants to know if you support a policy that will give affected ratepayers relief during or after an extraordinary or emergency event. …
Mayor Bernie Wanden said the policy aims to give Council a tool to allow it to provide relief to those suffering hardship during uncertain times.
“Living in the Shaky Isles, we’re all well aware of the risks of earthquakes and tsunamis, but we’re also warned to expect more droughts and floods due to climate change. Therefore, we’ve made the draft policy flexible so that it will work for any event and not necessarily a civil defence emergency,” said Mayor Wanden. “The policy can even be used if a home or business is rendered unusable.”
“We now need to hear from residents, businesses and organisations to find out their thoughts on the draft policy so that we can incorporate changes to reflect our communities’ concerns before the policy is adopted.” …
The consultation period runs from Friday 17 July through to 4pm on Friday 31 July and a hearing will be held in Council’s Chambers on 5 August. The final draft policy will be considered for adoption at Council’s 12 August meeting and if adopted the policy will be operative before the first rates instalment is due on 15 September 2020.
Source: Have your say on the Draft Rates Postponement Policy – Horowhenua District Council.