Napier City Council will next week meet to see whether Covid-19 could prompt a significantly hike to next year's rates

Before the pandemic, Council proposed a 6.5 percent increase to pay for water related projects, and to cover increasing regulatory compliance - and asset depreciation.

But the Council's now anticipating a 3.1 million rates deficit for the rest of 2019/20 - and 7.5 million in lost revenue in 2020/21