Council wraps up budget decisions for the year ahead
Published on 16 May 2025
After a full day of debate and decision-making, elected members have reduced the proposed increase in total rates from 7.7% to 6.6% for 2025/26.
With more than 200 people filling the public gallery, the mayor and councillors worked through the draft Annual Budget, wrapping up around 6:30pm on Wednesday.
The decisions made will shape how we deliver services, maintain infrastructure, and invest in Palmerston North's future over the next financial year.
The changes included reducing the Council catering budget by $100,000, and maintaining the professional services budget at $14.1 million.
An extra $372,000 was added to the transport budget for street tree maintenance. To help balance this, $223,000 was taken out of the budget for sportsfields and local reserves. Council also chose to defer $250,000 of planned digital transformation work until the following year.
New funding includes $7,500 to help MaLGRA keep their space at Hancock Community House, and $50,000 to support Massey’s Te Waimana o Turitea Botanical Gardens project. Council also agreed to contribute $25,000 to Manawatū Rugby to support community rugby and the Cyclones and Turbos teams.
Other additions include $20,000 to support the Te Ahu a Turanga gateway carpark, and $90,000 to investigate off-road pickup and drop-off options near Palmerston North Boys’ High on Featherston Street.
When it comes to rates, Council confirmed the Annual General Charge will stay at $300, as proposed in the draft. They also decided not to change the discount for semi-rural properties, keeping it the same as in 2024/25 instead of reducing it.
The final Annual Budget 2025/26 will be confirmed and adopted at the Council meeting on 4 June.
Council also plans to officially set rates for the year at the same meeting. Rates for 2025/26 will be based on updated property values from September last year and will include the second step in shifting more of the rates calculation to a property’s capital value. Because of this, the amount people pay will vary quite a bit from property to property.
A recording of the meeting can be found on the meeting page. Minutes will be available later.
Learn more about the meeting