‘It’s official, a draft KCDC Long Term Plan has been released and Council is considering raising rates to a whopping 7.8 percent—next year 8.3 and 8.6 percent two years later.’ states Guy Burns, Deputy Chair of the Paraparaumu Raumati Community Board
‘A big driver for the rates rise is a massive increase in capital expenditure—from $23 million a year for the last three years, to $73 million a year for the next three. Council state a major justification for this huge expenditure rise is ‘to stimulate the economic rebound locally…in response to Covid-19’.
‘The document uses the catch phrase ‘keep our spending up’ but a consequence of such a foolish policy change will be to ‘keep rates high’.
‘To do this, Council are musing with the idea of increasing their borrowing limit of 200 percent of operating income to 250 percent and creating a Council controlled trading organisation (CCO) to ‘operate commercially and can generate a profit for our district’. So called financial restraint lies buried in the dust.
‘The Mayor and Councillors who have approved this draft plan need to take a reality check. I have no confidence in Council using ratepayer’s money to set up an organisation to compete with existing businesses to make money for ratepayers. Leave business to business people, KCDC needs to stick to providing core public services for ratepayers.
‘It’s outlandish to increase our rates for the purpose of stimulating the local economy. We are a small borough of under 60,000 people. Let central government stimulate our economy. Council’s borrowing limit should be kept to its current level—just because interest rates are low is no excuse to increase our debt levels by 25 percent, they are already one of the highest in NZ.
‘In fact The Mayor/Councillors need to direct the chief executive to reduce KCDC operational costs by a figure of 5 to 10 percent. Savings can be found in this huge bureaucracy to bring down rates rises to well under 5 percent.
‘One positive thing I take from the draft plan is that Council are transparent about wanting to increase rates, debt and expenditure.
‘These plans are in draft form and will need to be approved by the Mayor and Councillors at the meeting on this Thursday 25 March. Consultation will then occur, but history shows us it’s hard to change the draft plan—probably it’s easier to turn an ocean liner around on a dollar coin.’
The draft Long Term Plan can be viewed on the KCDC website here
I remember Before Capitalìsm in the early 80’s when the local council did not have a CEO. They were called an accountant. Rates were affordable. Then next minute they hired this dude. Paid him well over 100 thousand and provided him with a car which cost ratepayers megabucks. Perhaps u remember how much that car cost. I dont. I just remember i. was horrified. Sadly our lives changed. Our rates trebled. Capitalism destroys communities and people. Greed is a destroyer of values and morals and ethics. Look at your mayor. Happy as a reporter for the local rag he was. well maybe not as happy as what I thought. Over the years I cringe when I hear the word growth. Growth? Not for me! Imho.
It’s just growth for the sake of growth. The problem, however, is that the population is growing from immigration at an accelerating rate.
“…to stimulate the economic rebound locally”. Did they quantify the economic losses suffered by the district during COVID (i.e., over the last year)? If so, I’ll have to have a read of the full document, as that would be interesting.
I’d have thought with a large pensioner population; little/no large nationwide events held in the district; a district not dependent on int’l tourism or int’l student numbers; and a large segment of the population employed in the seat of government – there really should not have been all that much change to GDP in the district arising from COVID.
I hope COVID does not become the scapegoat for all subsequent increases in government expenditure – both central and local. Seems to me Kāpiti is in the position it is due to misallocation of capital expenditure over a number of decades. Population growth costs and the cost of that growth is not being managed with any vision of our resource constrained future.
Does the new capital expenditure include building that second water source (I think a dam/reservoir was suggested?), as that is likely the biggest on-going sustainability issue that council will need to address within the next decade.
As a former KCDC Councilor, I am appalled at the seeming recklessness of this current KCDC Council, even considering to increase the Rate Take especially at this time, when there is no certainty how this country, let alone the whole world, will survive the Economic effects of this virus and its variables.
Such effects can and will make very substantial impacts upon the workforce, which in fact will have dramatic consequences on the population being in a position to make any such astronomical Rate Payments, especially as such stress factors can impose enormous pressure on households.
The council would appear to have lost any sense of priority, instead of contemplating such an increase, it should be cutting out those projects that can be shelved for a future day, and making it easier at this time of uncertainty!