Council’s Response Package to COVID-19
May 12, 2020
At the Council meeting on 30 April, Council agreed to the following assistance initiatives to help businesses and individuals as part of its response to those suffering hardship due to COVID-19:
- Small to medium businesses will be paid weekly rather than on the 20 day of the month following an invoice.
- No increase in fees and charges (or any new fees) for the 2020/21 year, compared with 2019/20, and there will continue to be no borrowing or overdue charges at the District libraries.
- A refund of half the annual fees received for use of Council’s sportsfields will be made to sporting organisations.
- A refund of three months’ licence fees to all food outlets, hairdressers and other registered premises operating in the District that closed during alert 3 and 4 of the COVID-19 response.
- A refund of application fees lodged for building or resource consents which are withdrawn because of hardship or other issues associated with the COVID-19 alerts.
Further Assistance to Council’s Commercial Tenants
At the Council meeting on Friday, 8 May Council agreed to a further initiative to assist tenants of all its commercial buildings by waiving three month’s rent. The waiver will automatically be applied, so tenants do not need to individually apply for this. Mayor Andy Watson said that “we acknowledge some of our local businesses have been severely financially impacted by COVID-19 so Council is pleased to be able to assist them in some way.”
Message for our Businesses
The Council is compiling a database of businesses in the district so we can connect and share relevant information, such as regional business surveys, to ensure the voice of our business sector is heard. If you are a business and have not yet received an email from Council please contact Nardia Nardia by email - nardia.gower@rangitikei.govt.nz.
Council is committed to ensuring that our business community is aware of the various opportunities for assistance offered, so we have created a COVID19 Business Support information page with relevant resources.