Dear Friend,

We're at a tipping point. Council rates bills are out of control. The Taxpayers' Union has exposed that the average rates hike this year is more than 14 percent.

This is unaffordable and unsustainable. Families being forced to make impossible choices just to get by is the new norm. Enough is enough.

That's why today we are launching a campaign calling on the Government to limit rates hikes to a maximum of three percent per year – the upper limit of long-term inflation.

Tomorrow, local councillors and Mayors will gather in Wellington to attend their swanky Local Government NZ Junket Conference. This is the same conference that two years ago banned all supporters of the Taxpayers' Union, despite the topic of the conference literally being "The Future of Local Democracy"...

Meanwhile, Councils are turning their backs on ratepayers, prioritising pet projects and wasteful spending over the essential services we rely on. While families are tightening their belts, tens - even hundreds - of millions of dollars are wasted on vanity projects like convention centres and cycle lanes. It’s time to push back.

Friend, we know some Mayors and Councillors will kick up a stink and argue that it's simply not possible to fund core services without turning Kiwis upside down and shaking their pockets empty.

That’s nonsense. Councils have been ignoring the 'three Rs' —roads, rates, and rubbish— for years now.

Councils are bloated, inefficient and lack any real sense of what ratepayers' priorities are. Double-digit rates hikes have become nothing more than a get out of jail free card.

If councils can't be trusted anymore, it's time for a change.

But we’re even giving them an out. If a council hand-on-heart can’t balance the books after cutting back on waste, they can go to residents and ask for approval to raise rates beyond three percent via local ratepayer referenda.

Ratepayers, not officials, will have the final say on how their councils are run and where their hard-earned money goes. If they've honestly done all they can to cut waste, then they should have no issue persuading residents they need more of their money.

But, Friend, that's a very big 'if'.

A referendum is only going to pass if ratepayers trust their money will be spent where councillors say it will - this is the key to forcing our representatives to get their priorities straight.

Families are already having to tighten their belts. It’s time our councils did the same.

Friend, will you join me and take 30 seconds to write to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Local Government Simeon Brown demanding change?

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Thank you for standing with me,

James Ross Policy & Public Affairs Manager New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union