A new survey has found nearly three-quarters of Kiwis support user-pays as a fairer way of charging for local services like water and electricity.
And the strong public appetite for funding tools that go beyond rates has the support of Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ).
"There's a real perception that all the money gets spent on the CRL (City Rail Link), all the money gets spent on large infrastructure things that don't ever come to our part of town," said Brent Bailey, the local board chair of Rodney - which pays its rates to Auckland Council.
It's a feeling shared by Helensville locals.
"I appreciate we've got to pay towards the facilities that we get in Auckland but it could be a little bit fairer," one woman told Newshub.
"We are rural and I think we're a separate entity," said one man.
To find out what Kiwis think is fair when it comes to paying for local services, the Infrastructure Commission surveyed just more than 3000 people.
"Many services we do pay usage charges - like electricity and water - in some places in New Zealand and not others," said Infrastructure Commission general manager Geoff Cooper. "But often there's this issue of, how fair is that?"
The survey found nearly three-quarters support usage as a fair way of charging for water (72 percent) and electricity infrastructure (74 pct).
But far fewer (34 percent) thought user-pays is a fair way to fund roads.
"People that live in the centre of the city have got State Highways, they've got huge car parks, they've got malls," said Bailey.
"We've got to travel 30km round trip to get a bottle of milk. There's a perception that we're not getting a fair shake."
LGNZ has welcomed the strong public appetite for funding tools that go beyond rates.
"I think the survey supports a diversification of funding for councils," said Sam Broughton, president of LGNZ.
The survey also found that, despite Auckland Council pushing ahead with plans for congestion charging in a few years' time, more than half of the respondents - 65 percent - did not think it's a fair way of charging for road use at peak times.
However, Aucklanders were more likely to think it's fair than those from other parts of the country.
"I think that's because Aucklanders are used to the scourge of putting up with congestion day after day," said Cooper.
