Business East Tamaki and the Howick Village Association would share targeted-rate grants that fund local business services, with both due a small rise
The Howick Local Board has backed two targeted-rate grants totalling almost $850,000 for the business improvement districts in its area for the 2026/2027 year.
The larger grant, $630,360, goes to Business East Tamaki, a 3 per cent rise on the current year.
The Howick Village Association would receive $216,913.51, up 2.5 per cent.
A business improvement district, or BID, is funded by a targeted rate on the businesses and commercial property owners within its boundary.
Auckland Council collects the rate and passes it straight to each association every quarter, so there is no cost to the Board or to general ratepayers.
Business East Tamaki represents about 3,300 businesses and 2,100 property owners in one of the country’s largest industrial and commercial areas, and adopted the BID model in 2009.
Its work spans advocacy, crime prevention, events and business support, and it is chaired by Highbrook Medical General Manager, Lucy Hall.
The Howick Village Association, which covers the Howick Village shopping area, runs on a far smaller budget and is chaired by Sam Dalzell of Resonate Howick.
Its 2026/2027 business plan puts much of the grant into running the Howick Village Market, which it aims to keep at 68 to 70 stalls each week.
The plan also funds a calendar of street events, including the Howick Village “HOP”, the Christmas Fair, Matariki and Eco-Day and a Cultural Food Festival, alongside village CCTV, advocacy for better lighting and monthly meetings with local Police.
The association markets the village under a line it sums up as “There’s no place like Howick Village”, and says it wants to grow the BID programme through further grant funding.
Both grants were approved by the associations’ own members at their 2025 annual meetings, and the amounts must still be confirmed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, which sets the final rate.
Before recommending them, the Board had to be satisfied each BID had met the council’s accountability rules, and staff reported that both had “sufficiently met BID Policy Requirements” for the year.
The report was more pointed about the wider region, observing that this year “many treasurers’ reports lacked basic information” that members could understand, that a number of BIDs had not posted their post-2025 AGM documents online, and that a small group were missing reporting deadlines.
The endorsement was moved by member Damian Light and seconded by member Peter Young on 28 May.
