Have your say on how MDC allocates costs

Who should pay what for Council services and projects?

A review of Masterton District Council’s Revenue and Financing Policy is now open for consultation with five key proposed changes to how costs are shared across the community.

The policy sets out how the Council funds activities in Long-Term and Annual Plans, and shares costs across the community, including between urban and rural ratepayers, as well as determining what costs are more fairly recovered through fees and charges.

The scope of the review has been impacted by the transfer of water services to Waitī Waters and updated population estimates from Statistics New Zealand.

The Council is proposing changes to how some costs are shared between urban and rural ratepayers and which rating tool is used for some services. These proposals do not change the services the Council delivers or the amount of rates collected. The changes will take effect from 1 July 2027.

The Council is seeking feedback on five proposed changes on how costs are shared:

• Proposal 1: Use updated population data to share costs between urban and rural rating areas.
• Proposal 2: Share Storm Damage Recovery funding using population to share costs between urban and rural rating areas.
• Proposal 3: Change the rating tool to Capital Value (CV) for the rural share of Solid Waste costs.
• Proposal 4: Change the rating tool to CV for the rural share of Parks, Reserves and Cemeteries.
• Proposal 5: Better align urban/rural allocation of the rates portion of Animal Control funding with service demand.

Mayor Bex Johnson said the way Council activities are funded affects all parts of the community.

“We want to know whether people think the proposed changes create a fairer way of determining who pays for Council services,” she said.

“This is not just a matter for ratepayers – one way or another, this policy impacts everyone living and working in our District.”

The consultation is available through the Council’s website and the What’s Up, Whakaoriori? platform.

Hard copies of the consultation documents are available at the Council’s offices at 161 Queen Street and 27-29 Lincoln Road, and at Masterton District Library, 45 Chapel Street.

Consultation closes at 4pm, 12 November 2026.

ENDS