Councillors indicated in the past they wanted to review all aspects of rates in light of Three Waters being transferred to a regional water entity, the impact of district-wide rating and the significant rates increases in the past two years.
Then late last year the government announced a proposal to cap council rate increases at 2% to 4%.
Central Otago District Council chief financial officer Paul Morris said feedback from a workshop run by local government finance and risk management specialist Stephen Halliwell to introduce councillors to the review process was a general acceptance of the need to undertake a rates review.
Mr Morris said a rates system review would allow the council to assess and, if appropriate, redesign its rating framework.
It would also examine ways to ensure fairer rates distribution following the transfer of Three Waters to a council-controlled organisation from July next year.
At the council meeting Cr Stu Duncan questioned the timing and cost of the review.
"At the workshop I was the first to put my hand up and say we want to have a look at it.
"I'm not saying I've changed my mind, but some of the things that I want to see dealt with, we probably can do without a rates review.
"And I guess the second question to that is ... whether we might have unitary authorities or we might have a lot going on in the workload, I'm just wondering whether it's the right time to do it."
Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley said councillors had previously indicated it was their number one priority.
Cr Duncan agreed but asked if council staff had capacity to take on the work for a review and whether it could be done in a workshop.
"Couldn’t we just pick away at it?"
Mr Morris said changes to rates had to be during the long-term plan process — once every three years — making "picking away" a slow process with potentially unintended consequences.
"Once you start tinkering with one or two [rateable items], you start to get into a .. position that it's really hard to unwind and it's really hard then to balance it back out."
The result could be that councillors found the current system was best.
"The object here is to see and make sure that your rating system is equitable," Mr Morris said.
Long-term councillor Martin McPherson said he saw no harm in having a review.
"I don't recall in my time around this table any serious look at our income streams, and rates are one part of that."
