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You can find out more about the Hawke's Bay Regional Council programmes that specific rates fund elsewhere on this website.
Find out all about rates in this animated video - how they are spent, where the additional funding comes from, and how your rates are worked out.
Each property owner in Hawke's Bay contributes to the work of Hawke's Bay Regional Council through their rates. Our region covers Wairoa, Hastings, Napier, Central Hawke’s Bay and parts of Taupo and Rangitikei districts.
We manage natural resources on your behalf, such as water and air quality, land sustainability programmes, and coastal, wetland and habitat protection. We also manage regional programmes such as flood protection, biosecurity, transport planning, regional economic development and regional civil defence emergency management.
These fund services to your property such as water, sewerage, waste management, as well as amenities in your local community including roading, parks and reserves, libraries and community halls.
Rates are due for payment on 20 September.
For most properties, the Regional Council rates are much lower than city and district rates, so we send property owners a single rates invoice in August to keep the costs of collection down.
If you have opted to receive your rates account by email, please remember to check all email boxes such as 'junk'.
The Animal Pest Control rate is charged on rural properties 4.0468 hectares (10 acres) and above. This helps fund programmes to control rooks, possums in rural (PCA) and urban (HuB) programmes, advisory services for rabbit control, subsidised possum control products for ratepayers, and the support of community biodiversity groups.
This rate is charged to all ratepayers as a Uniform Charge. This rate helps pay for a range of activities to benefit our communities by meeting regional civil defence and natural hazard management preparedness, resilience and response needs.
This rate is charged across the region and funds economic development initiatives as set out below.
The rate is made up of:
In line with the Regional Economic Development Strategy 2011, the Regional Council has committed to supporting the following key outcomes:
The main purpose of the Flood Control schemes is to provide protection from flooding from the major rivers up to the design standard, nominally a 1 in 100 year return period event. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council provides flood and drainage protection and management in a number of areas around the region. Rates are based on either the land or capital value of a property.
Within scheme areas, there is also provision for the maintenance of the stream capacity by keeping specific waterways clear.
Find full scheme descriptions on our Flood Control Schemes page.
These rates together are the ‘General Funding’ rates that support the community based activities that the Regional Council provides in the region.
General Funding rates pay services provided by the Regional Council across the entire region, such as governance, strategic planning and regulation.
This Clean Heat Targeted Rate is charged only on ratepayers with property within an ‘air shed’ and is based on land value. If this item is not on your rates bill, your property is outside the airsheds.
An air shed is a legally designated zone in Napier, Hastings and Awatoto where research shows air quality needs improvement. Like all other regions in New Zealand, Hawke’s Bay must meet the National Environmental Standard (NES) for air quality set by the Ministry for the Environment. Currently PM10 concentrations in Napier and Hastings on cold clear winter nights exceed this standard and this rate assists people to install insulation and clean forms of heating.
Find more information on our sustainable homes programme pages
The Plant Pest Control rate is charged on rural properties 4.0468 hectares (10 acres) and larger. This helps fund biosecurity advisory services for property owners/ occupiers for controlling pest plants listed under the Regional Pest Management Strategy or other plants outside this strategy, for health, productivity, biodiversity and land drainage benefits. The rate also contributes to weed biological controls.
This rate is charged only on urban ratepayers in Napier, Havelock North, Hastings, Clive and Bay View, to help provide bus services in and around the cities. Bay View residents are not charged for this service.
As well as this rate, public transport is paid for by fare-paying passengers, and the NZ Transport Agency funding. These services are managed by the Regional Council and operated by GoBus Transport Ltd.
This rate also covers the Total Mobility Scheme which provides subsidised taxi travel to assist Hawke’s Bay residents who are unable to use public transport due to a significant, permanent impairment.
Napier and Hastings ratepayers will pay a new targeted rate to meet the cost of planning for coastal hazard management. A predicted sea level rise of up to 1.5 metres over the next 100 years will require major changes to the protective structures and intervention along our coast so we will need to pay for the preparation planning. Find out more at HB Coast.
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accurate and up to date, Hawke's Bay Regional Council shall not be liable for any loss suffered through the use, directly or indirectly, of information on this website. Information contained has been assembled in good faith.
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© Hawke's Bay Regional Council - www.hbrc.govt.nz / +64 6 835 9200 / info@hbrc.govt.nz