Hamilton's debt monster has risen and Mayor Andrew King has issued a warning to Hamilton that the city needs to face up to the debt problem now or face the consequences.
At an elected members briefing on Monday, Mr King proposed a rates rise of 16.5 per cent to balance Hamilton's books. In March this year he proposed a rise of 12 per cent which was quickly shot down by councillors.
Two other rates options were also put on the table at a council briefing on Monday.
Putting off the tough decisions now will only leave a larger burden on ratepayers later...
One is to spread the rise of rates over three years, with each year having an increase of 8 per cent.
The other is to keep the current 3.8 per cent annual increase but slash services to community facilities such as swimming pools and libraries or the Peacocke subdivision development.
Councillor Mark Bunting did not supportthe huge rates increase to bring Hamilton's debt down.
"I am personally sick of the ratepayer being the one having to bail us out all of the time," Mr Bunting said.
"I will be working really, really hard to make sure the 16.5 per cent rise does not happen."
Hamilton's debt problem has been attributed largely to unexpected growth since the global financial crisis in 2008.
Mr King said in a statement that growth opportunities in the southern Peacocke development, building a new bridge and supplying water and wastewater infrastructure will require a substantial rate rise.
"I don't believe we should leave this to a future council. Putting off the tough decisions now will only leave a larger burden on ratepayers later and make it harder for our residents to get on the housing ladder," Mr King said.
"The right decisions in the coming weeks and months could save our city's ratepayers millions of dollars in the future."
Mr Bunting was not against staggering the rates increase, but was open to doing it over a longer period than the three years proposed.
He said that councillors were only given a brief look of the top of the budget and more discussions will be needed.
"Mayor Andrew has been very clear of what he thinks of the books, but there is a difference between running a business and running a council and dealing with real people, and these people's rates. The bottom line is people on my street cannot afford that large an increase," Mr Bunting said.
He also said that the budget is made on the assumption that the Peacocke development is going ahead.
"That has not been decided yet and a lot of us are questioning that. Is it growth at all cost?"
Councillors Angela O'Leary and Paula Southgate joined Mr Bunting in concern about the amount of spending that the community will receive over the next 10 years.
Councillor O'Leary posted on her public Facebook. "Where are the people in this budget? Why is it so development focused and not people-focused? Where are the libraries, parks, playgrounds?"
Councillor Southgate also posted on her Facebook page saying that the council does need to deal with growth, but also focus on the community.
"I feel the investment in community aspects that make a city livable is just plainly too low.
"I'm pushing for full transparency on what new community investment is in or out," Ms Southgate said.
The initial 10-Year Plan budget will be further developed over the next few months with opportunities for the public to give their views on what should be included in the plan. The draft plan will be presented to the council on December 6.