Response to LGOIMA request 2024 168.pdf

16 August 2024
File Ref: OIAPR-1274023063-29580
Tony Randle
By email: [FYI request #27804 email]
Tēnā koe Tony,
Request for information 2024-168
I refer to your request for information dated Wednesday, 24 July 2024 which was received by
Greater Wellington Regional Council (Greater Wellington) on Wednesday, 24 July 2024. You
have requested the following:
“This request asks for information on the 2024/34 Long Term Plan.

A) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed calculations that were used
to provide the General Rates information in the 2024/34 Long Term Plan?
B) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the calculations of the 2024/34 General
Rate allocation to ratepayers?
C) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed costs for the cost amounts
used in the calculation of the 2024/34 General Rates?
D) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed revenue for the revenue
amounts used in the calculation of the 2024/34 General Rates?
E) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed calculations that were used
to provide the Transport Rates information in the draft 2024/34 Long Term Plan?
F) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the calculations of the 2024/34 Transport
Rate allocation to ratepayers?
G) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed costs for the cost amounts
used in the calculation of the 2024/34 Transport Rates?
H) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed revenue for the revenue
amounts used in the calculation of the 2024/34 Transport Rates?

I) Can the GWRC please provide a copy of the changes (contributions and withdrawals) from
the Transport Reserve over the past three years including the source for the contributions and
the target for the withdrawals?
J) Can the GWRC please provide a copy of any reports or presentations to GWRC councillors
at Long Term Plan 2024/34 workshops?

If the requested information is held in electronic form, it is preferred that the information is
provided in its complete and original electronic format. It is also preferred that information is
not removed from documents even if this information may be assessed as being out of scope
for this information request.”
Greater Wellington’s response follows:
Thank you for your enquiry regarding your general and transport rates in our 2024/34 Long Term
Plan (LTP). We have prepared the following information to best answer your ten questions
identified above.
A) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed calculations that were
used to provide the General Rates information in the 2024/34 Long Term Plan?
Greater Wellington Regional Council is organised into four key Activity Groups:

•
Environment and Flood Protection
•
Metlink Public Transport
•
Regional Strategy and Partnerships
•
Water Supply
Environment and Flood Protection, and Regional Strategy and Partnerships are the only two
groups to utilise the general rates funding method to fund their activities. This is partially offset
by activities from the Investment Management group.

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The following table is high level summary of the total General Rate portion required for each activity group per year. It
also shows the amount of offset to the General rate provided from investment activities.

2024/25 2025/26
2026/27
2027/28
2028/29
2029/30
2030/31
2031/32
2032/33
2033/34
Activity Groups
‘$000
‘$000
‘$000
‘$000
‘$000
‘$000
‘$000
‘$000
‘$000
‘$000
Environment
92,464
107,086
118,397
120,987
128,036
132,100
134,987
137,977
140,576
143,470
Regional Strategy
15,653
17,113
17,654
17,838
18,453
18,824
18,994
19,448
19,616
19,945
and Partnerships
Investment
-14,560
-14,411
-8,205
-11,195
-8,294
-10,298
-12,099
-16,934
-12,972
-13,264
Management
Grand Total
93,557
109,788
127,846
127,630
138,195
140,626
141,882
140,491
147,220
150,151

This information is publicly available on the Greater Wellington website: https://ltp.gw.govt.nz/
Please  refer  to  pages  59-61 (Environment and Flood Protection)  for  the Activity Level
Prospective  Funding  Impact  Statement  (FIS)  and  pages  104-105 (Regional Strategy and
Partnerships) and page 128 (Investments).
Please refer to Attachment  1  -  Funding impact statements (FIS)  for activities funded by
General Rates for a further detailed breakdown of the calculations used to provide the General
Rates information in the 2024-34 LTP. Please note that the attached data only reflects data for
the general rate, whereas the LTP includes all rates, therefore there will be a variance between
the two documents provided.
For further understanding of how we are fund our activities, please refer to Greater Wellington’s
Revenue and Financing Policy 2024 https://ltp.gw.govt.nz/supporting-strategies-and-policies/
(Pages 8-24 for Environment and Flood Protection and pages 27-37 for Regional Strategy and
Partnerships).
B) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the calculations of the 2024/34
General Rate allocation to ratepayers?
Please refer to attachment 2 – Rates Model 2024/25.
For each territorial authority (TA), equalised capital values (EQV) are obtained from Quotable
Value, and these are then used to pro-rata the total general rates required from each TA. TAs
are then responsible for allocating and collecting the total rates from the rate payers within their
boundaries.
The allocation for each TAs is updated annually through annual plan.
CV
ECV 2024/25
General

Rate
Rates sought

$
$
$
Cents per $

By TA

Wellington city
117,326,906,550   99,003,634,434   42,450,780
0.03618
Hutt city
39,707,176,000   38,393,867,363   16,462,523
0.04146
Upper Hutt city
16,856,900,350   15,516,301,703
6,653,080
0.03947
Porirua city
19,409,983,800   18,992,714,263
8,143,696
0.04196
Kāpiti Coast district
23,142,666,100   23,073,590,904
9,893,495
0.04275
Masterton district
10,529,984,800   10,956,106,252
4,697,759
0.04461
Carterton district
4,626,940,700
4,589,109,075
1,967,718
0.04253
South Wairarapa district
7,891,083,050
7,645,492,004
3,278,234
0.04154
Tararua district
20,442,000
21,568,275
9,248
0.04524
Region wide
239,512,083,350   218,192,384,273   93,556,534
0.03906

C) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed costs for the cost
amounts used in the calculation of the 2024/34 General Rates?
Refer to the  Attachment  1  -  Funding impact statements (FIS) for activities funded by
General Rates for the detailed  breakdown  of  cost  amounts used in the calculation of the
2024/34 General Rates.
D) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed revenue for the revenue
amounts used in the calculation of the 2024/34 General Rates?
Refer to the  Attachment  1  -  Funding impact statements (FIS) for activities funded by
General Rates for the detailed breakdown of revenue amounts used in the calculation of the
2024/34 General Rates.
E) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed calculations that were
used to provide the Transport Rates information in the draft 2024/34 Long Term Plan?
As  outlined in the  2024  Revenue and Financing Policy  (https://ltp.gw.govt.nz/supporting-
strategies-and-policies/ ), the revenue amounts to cover the operational expenditure, is split
between ‘Fees and User charges’, Government Subsidies and Targeted rates. Transport rates
are applied after considering other sources of revenue.
Please refer to Attachment 3 – Metlink FIS for more detail, and Attachment 2 – Rates model
2024-25.
This information is available in the 2024-34 LTP (pages 76-77), in the form of the Activity Level
Prospective Funding Impact Statement (FIS).
Please note that in Attachment 3, the projected cost information relating to the bus, rail and
ferry contracts in the Wellington Region  has been withheld in accordance with sections
7(2)(b)(i ) and 7(2)(i) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (the
Act)  on  the  grounds  that  releasing  the  breakdown  of  the  cost  estimates  would  be  likely  to
unreasonably  prejudice  the  commercial  position  of  the  operators  when  negotiating  similar
contracts, and Greater Wellington’s ability to carry on,  without  prejudice  or  disadvantage,
negotiations for the upcoming contracts.
We  have  considered  whether  the  public  interest  in  the  requested  information  outweighs
Greater Wellington’s need to withhold certain aspects of the requested information. As a result,
we  do  not  consider  that  the  public  interest  outweighs  Greater  Wellington’s reason for
withholding parts of the document under the grounds identified above.

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F) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the calculations of the 2024/34
Transport Rate allocation to ratepayers?
The allocation of rates are calculated on ECV, with differentials based on land use, location and
provision of service. TAs are responsible for allocating and collecting the total rates from the
rate payers within their boundaries.
More detail regarding the allocation to ratepayers can be seen in the table below or found in the
rates model (Attachment 2 – Rates Model 2024/25).
Please also refer to page 240 for a Summary of rates and Levies in the Greater Wellington Long
Term Plan 2024/34 https://ltp.gw.govt.nz/.

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TA full name
Category group
CV ($)
ECV ($)
Differential
ECV multiplied
Public transport rate
Cents/$
Wellington city
Wellington CBD
13,368,376,300
11,280,599,473
7.00
78,964,196,310
40,053,106
0.29961
Wellington city
Business
6,480,398,350
5,468,336,361
1.40
7,655,670,906
3,883,195
0.05992
Wellington city
Residential
96,040,762,550
81,041,807,253
1.00
81,041,807,253
41,106,936
0.04280
Wellington city
Rural
1,437,369,350
1,212,891,347
0.25
303,222,837
153,804
0.01070
Hutt city
Business
6,742,241,000
6,519,242,433
1.40
9,126,939,407
4,629,469
0.06866
Hutt city
Residential
32,406,254,500
31,334,422,700
1.00
31,334,422,700
15,893,798
0.04905
Hutt city
Rural
558,680,500
540,202,230
0.25
135,050,557
68,502
0.01226
Upper Hutt city
Business
2,074,242,950
1,909,282,178
1.40
2,672,995,049
1,355,827
0.06536
Upper Hutt city
Residential
12,920,826,400
11,893,256,560
1.00
11,893,256,560
6,032,631
0.04669
Upper Hutt city
Rural
1,861,831,000
1,713,762,964
0.25
428,440,741
217,319
0.01167
Porirua city
Business
1,752,175,500
1,714,507,799
1.40
2,400,310,919
1,217,513
0.06949
Porirua city
Residential
16,374,013,500
16,022,010,268
1.00
16,022,010,268
8,126,864
0.04963
Porirua city
Rural
1,283,794,800
1,256,196,196
0.25
314,049,049
159,295
0.01241
Kāpiti Coast district
Business
2,118,502,900
2,112,179,687
1.40
2,957,051,562
1,499,909
0.07080
Kāpiti Coast district
Residential
15,678,065,400
15,631,270,211
1.00
15,631,270,211
7,928,668
0.05057
Kāpiti Coast district
Residential
2,036,169,400
2,030,091,933
0.50
1,015,045,966
514,863
0.02529
Kāpiti Coast district
Rural
3,309,928,400
3,300,049,074
0.25
825,012,268
418,472
0.01264
Masterton district
Business
954,405,000
993,027,320
1.00
993,027,320
503,694
0.05278
Masterton district
Residential
4,684,053,500
4,873,605,120
0.50
2,436,802,560
1,236,022
0.02639
Masterton district
Rural
4,891,526,300
5,089,473,812
0.25
1,272,368,453
645,385
0.01319
Carterton district
Business
198,752,500
197,127,424
1.00
197,127,424
99,989
0.05031
Carterton district
Residential
1,604,807,000
1,591,685,488
0.50
795,842,744
403,676
0.02515
Carterton district
Rural
2,823,381,200
2,800,296,163
0.25
700,074,041
355,099
0.01258
South Wairarapa district  Business
402,740,000
390,205,683
1.00
390,205,683
197,925
0.04914
South Wairarapa district  Residential
2,562,801,500
2,483,040,446
0.50
1,241,520,223
629,738
0.02457
South Wairarapa district  Rural
4,925,541,550
4,772,245,875
0.25
1,193,061,469
605,158
0.01229
Tararua district
Rural
20,442,000
21,568,275
0.00
0
0
0.00000
Region wide

239,512,083,350   218,192,384,273
271,940,782,481
137,936,858

G) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed costs for the cost
amounts used in the calculation of the 2024/34 Transport Rates?
Refer to the Attachment 3 - Metlink FIS, for the detailed breakdown of cost amounts used in
the calculation of the 2024/34 Transport Rates.
H) Can the GWRC please provide a complete copy of the detailed revenue for the revenue
amounts used in the calculation of the 2024/34 Transport Rates?
Refer to the Attachment 3 - Metlink FIS for the detailed breakdown of revenue amounts used
in the calculation of the 2024/34 Transport Rates.
Revenue is sourced from ‘Government grants and subsidies’, the ‘regional transport rate’ and
‘transport fares’.
I) Can the GWRC please provide a copy of the changes (contributions and withdrawals)
from the Transport Reserve over the past three years including the source for the
contributions and the target for the withdrawals?
A  Reserves  Report  is  included  in all Greater Wellington Annual Reports.  The  report  lists  all
Greater Wellington reserves, the Opening balances, and any deposits and withdrawals.
The last three years of changes (contributions and withdrawals) from the Public Transport and
Transport Planning Reserves can be found in the past three Annual Reports (2020/21, 2021/22
and 2022/23  https://www.gw.govt.nz/your-region/plans-policies-and-bylaws/plans-and-
reports/annual-reports/ ).
Year
Purpose of the fund
Opening
Deposits  Withdrawals  Closing
Reference
Balance
$’000
$‘000
balance
$’000
$’000
2020/21  Any funding surplus or
11,274
1,747
(500)
12,521  Annual
deficit relating to the
Report
provision of public
2020/21
transport services is
Page 104
used only on
2021/22  subsequent public
12,521
201
(7,026)
5,696  Annual
transport expenditure
Report
2021/22
Page 98
2022/23
5,695
68
(1,949)
3,814  Annual
Report
2022/23
Page 100

J) Can the GWRC please provide a copy of any reports or presentations to GWRC
councillors at Long Term Plan 2024/34 workshops?

LTP Workshop Reports & Presentations
The copies of reports and presentations have been included.
If you have any concerns with the decision(s) referred to in this letter, you have the right to
request an investigation and review by the Ombudsman under section 27(3) of the Act.
Please  note  that  it  is  our  policy  to  proactively  release  our  responses  to  official  information
requests where possible. Our response to your request will be published shortly on Greater
Wellington’s website with your personal information removed.
Nāku iti noa, nā

Jacob Boyes
Kaiwhakahaere Matua, Pūtea me ngā Tūraru | Group Manager Finance and Risk (acting)

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