The agenda is viewable here; and unlike the meeting in March about beach area policies, is mundane.

We wonder, though, that as Cr David Scott usually attends these as an audience member, whether Dougherty will also show up, cellphone at the ready to call the police in a repeat of last Thursday’s disgraceful episode at the Audit and Risk committee meeting? (see the Kapiti Independent article, previous post).

” We saw Council at the Audit and Risk Committee (A&R) of 28 April, sink to yet another new low even by Kapiti Coast District Council’s own dreadful standards….

“This is not democracy at work. This is an authoritarian, bullying Council that brooks no questioning, admits no wrong and uses whatever tactics it can, using ratepayers’ money, to attack and defend itself at all costs against the very people who fund its work on their behalf.”

Read the rest

While it’s no consolation to know others are (almost) as bad as the KCDC, it’s a shared experience.  What makes these legislated, compulsorily Ratepayer funded local monopolies like this?  What can be done about it?

More secret squirrel behaviour in the Councils … from Southland Regional Council this time. You have to ask, what are they hiding? See how they are listed at Dun & Bradstreet as companies. Check out our Agenda 21/2030 in NZ pages to shed some light on what’s really happening with our Councils. Have a read […]

via More ‘Public Excluded’ Council Shenanigans from Southland this time — Rangitikei Enviromental Health Watch

The Motor Trades Association is celebrating its centennial and is having the third day of a big car show tomorrow on the waterfront.

If you’re a Gold Card holder, why not take the train from Waikanae — it’s free.

Webpage

If the H.D.C. was HONEST, UP-FRONT & RUN WITH “INTEGRITY”, there would simply be NO “REASON” to have to “vote” to have “the books” sealed, the building “consent” hidden, or anything else! On Wednesday 26th April 2017, I heard a Councilor “plead his excuse” for why he doesn’t like the “Public” to be present at […]

via Why one Horowhenua District Councillor DOESN’T want the public present at Council meetings — Rangitikei Enviromental Health Watch

This list of 180 countries has been released by Reporters sans Frontierès (Reporters without Borders).

The main enemies of Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech generally are politicians, top bureaucrats and big business, in that order — they want to gag anything that reflects unfavourably on them.

NZ comes in at 13th place. Unsurprisingly, Kim Jong-Un land ranks last.  Website

The news reports in both the NZ Herald and Dominion Post this week on the apparent victimization of Cr David Scott for opposing extravagant and reckless intentions of council boss, Dougherty, bother us a lot. David Scott voted against a 5.9% rates increase this year, Dougherty’s pay rise and the Paraparaumu and Waikanae town centre plans; all very recently.

We have exactly the same questions as Dr Kerry Bolton (see earlier): Why was this supposedly ‘confidential’ matter leaked to the media and by whom? It was only initially known to four people – David Scott, Dougherty, Mayor Guru and the complainant, who we are told from several sources is [name withheld pending advice from our lawyers], a relatively recent Dougherty senior hire. And why did she promptly e-mail details to a contractor who is doing work for KCDC on which Cr Scott has objected?

The reports in the two papers claim that there is a ‘police investigation’ underway.  But that is news to David Scott. The same claim was used by Cr Vining and Dougherty at a meeting of the Audit and Risk Committee yesterday to remove David Scott from the room.

While it is probable that Dougherty did complain to the police, it seems they are not taking it too seriously: and that is hardly surprising given its flippant and frivolous nature.  It all seems part of a ploy by Dougherty.

We gather the letter composed by Dougherty and signed by Guru also included complaints that David Scott had previously complimented other female staff on their appearance — good grief.

What bothers us more than any of the above, however, is how council contracts are awarded by Dougherty.  This is something on which we are going to write to the government Audit Office.

We would be very interested in verifiable information that people have on this, particularly from council employees.  Confidentiality is assured.

This table indicates the extent of the growth of Dougherty’s empire — paid for by Kapiti ratepayers — over this 5-year period, according to the Statistics NZ website.  These figures will be for years ended 30 June. (It does not have figures loaded for 2016 as yet.)

Cr David Scott is seemingly the only councillor who cares about it.

The answer is a definite yes: according to figures produced by the Inland Revenue Department in 2015, you needed an income of over $200,000 to be in that category.

How many more of Dougherty’s appointees to council staff are also members of the top 1 percent?  A good question, which we will ask.

In the UK, the equivalent figure is very similar: in 2014, you needed to earn £119,498  ($NZ 217,000) per year to put you in the top 1% of earners there, according to this webpage.

Income statistics in the U.S. include realized capital gains, which figures in NZ don’t, however, the current figure required to make it into the top 1% there is $429,000 ($NZ 610,000) per year. Outside of the top 1%, however, the average income of the ‘bottom 99%’ is $45,567 ($NZ 64,600).

According to Statistics NZ, for people aged 15 years and over, the median income (half earn more, and half less) in Waikanae was just $28,800 in the 2013 census.