And how?
As I scan comments on BayBuzz and other media, there is no shortage of outraged ratepayers sounding off these days …
“It’s disgusting.”
“Time for heads to roll.”
“Another one bites the dust. October, not long now. Get voting people.”
“Good to know 2 questionable councillors aren’t standing again.”
“So many underhanded things going on but especially bad when it is with public money and at the expense of those who’s money is taken.”
“More Hawke’s Bay Mayor’s and Councillors resign, please.”
“It’s extreme – and it also means there must have been a significant failure.”
I hear the pain, frustration and indeed anger in these and many similar comments, but can mostly sympathise with two of those above – “must have been significant failure” and “get voting people”.
Our current councils should indeed be scrutinised for their spending priorities and their management of ratepayer monies. That’s totally fair and a fundamental bottom line of accountability. BayBuzz works hard to investigate that.
But realistically, two mega factors need to be taken into account in judging today’s rates. First, and most obvious, both Covid and Cyclone Gabrielle, in different ways, were huge disrupters of councils’ ‘current business’ operations and expenditure requirements. These were not inventions of misguided elected officials.
Second, the major driver of today’s and projected future council spending is fixing and upgrading our decrepit water infrastructure across the region (and in the case of HBRC, improving future flood protection).
And here, yes absolutely, there has been “significant failure”. And the bulk of that failure occurred during previous councils, run for years by elected officials with names like Yule, Arnott, Dalton, Gilbertson, Giddens, Butler and their respective senior staffs, who neglected that infrastructure … and not unwittingly.
Unfortunately, the opportunity for holding them accountable has come and gone. But if you’re a ratepayer intent on assigning ‘blame’ for today’s rates, you need to take into account what the region’s present elected officials have inherited.
IMHO, none of our present councils are avoiding or hiding their financial predicaments. To the contrary. And, while perfectly capable of making mistakes or unpleasant choices, they’re not corrupt. Frankly, it’s a shit time to be, or want to become, a local elected official!
So, yes, elections are coming and, yes, vote! But do so carefully.
If a candidate promises to rescue you from ‘excessive’ rate increases, be damn sure you get very concrete examples of how they would budget differently. And if you’re an aspiring candidate — incumbent or newbie — promising to do better, expect to be interrogated. Generalities will not cut the mustard in October.
BayBuzz is presently conducting an online survey asking readers to rate our councils’ performance. Just takes 2 minutes to complete. Please take the survey … the results will send an important message to all candidates.
yeah we hear alot of a bout infrastructure over and over….then we hear about rate increases over and over….then we hear a bout salary increases not infrastructure increases and new waka and aquarium projects.
Here be the rub….20% to 50% increases in rates will have massive effect on the locals and its inter-generational. That size of increases can only be considered evil nothing more nothing less. Whether you doing all the above projects or none of them.
The increases are about power nothing to do projects. People talk about amalgamation, its a myth won’t change a thing.
Councils have become unaffordable is the bottom line.
Expansion has become unaffordable is another bottom line.
Agree completely Pete, it’s a cop out to blame it on previous Council’s, sure Arnott and her croonies are to blame and she still has her mit out to the ratepayers. But the current Councils are concerned with the wrong things and are charging us for them when other bodies, with deep pockets, could be paying for them instead of the ratepayers. The Waka Hub is partly funded with money given to the Council for the Cyclone? Explain how that helps at all? This is one example of so many misguided decisions of a current Council. Councillor Tahera and the Maori committee can speak to this further, perhaps? After they and elected officials lunch at wineries on the ratepayer. Napier and Hastings are building multi-million dollar accommodation and spaces that will ‘benefit the community’, good for the builders, landscape architects and ‘iwi consultants’ who again, are being funded by the ratepayer. These things are nothing to do with Covid, cyclones or water. They are misguided decisions in a climate where the average ratepayer is doing it extremely tough and doesn’t get a pay rise every year in line with the rates rises. The ratepayers say NO and the Councils do it anyway.
Corruption, a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense, involves using entrusted authority for illicit gain. It encompasses various actions like bribery, extortion, fraud, embezzlement, nepotism, and cronyism, often aimed at personal or private benefit. In public sector contexts, corruption can divert public funds and undermine trust in government, impacting economic stability and social well-being.
To conclude, “get voting people”.
Napier’s infrastructure woes were self-evident during the amalgamation vote all those years ago but nothing was done (other than screams of outrage about the cost of amalgamation). Nothing’s changed in HB although I’d place some praise where it’s due – both major councils have made, or are making, efforts to correct some of the shortfalls – Hastings more than Napier I would think – but there’s a lot to do and the “nice to have” projects need to be shelves while the basics are fixed properly
3 commercial developers having projects subsidised by HDC when they are $400m in debt isnt a good look. Last week HDC provided a $2.5m subsidy to a new Dan Walker development in Hastings > this week a new office complex by TUMU > HDC will take 1950sqm of space for just 80 staff ( or 24sqm per person ) That an insane amount of space per person.
Every one of those things drives our rates up, and yet we’re constantly told the council’s doing everything possible to keep them down. It’s getting harder and harder to trust that line. If this was a business, you simply wouldn’t see decisions like this being made — not when you’re already in a financial black hole. It’s just not how responsible organisations operate.
Subpart 1—Purpose of local government
10Purpose of local government
(1)
The purpose of local government is—
(a)
to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and
(b)
to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities in the present and for the future.
Key words ‘by, and on behalf of, communities’ and ‘wellbeing of communities in the present’.
Mayors, if you are still standing this year, explain how the decisions you are making now are on behalf of and benefitting your communities in the present. Let’s hear it from the horses mouth, rather than through your Communications team.
Tom, what’s noticeably absent this year is any meaningful discussion about the structural issues that were front and centre just twelve months ago — underinvestment in local infrastructure and the long-standing practice of artificially suppressing rates for political convenience. These problems don’t resolve themselves in a single budget cycle, yet the silence suggests they’ve conveniently slipped off the agenda.
At this moment, what’s required is not just reactive governance, but visionary leadership — people willing to move beyond short-term fixes and invest in long-term resilience. The current group may have steered us through recent challenges, but they have yet to demonstrate that they can lead us into a sustainable future. An election year shouldn’t mean a retreat into caution and image management.
As someone in a position to shape public dialogue, Tom, we look to you and the Bay Buz Team to hold them to account — not to echo their messaging or appear to align with them for ease or favour. The role of a strong civic voice is to challenge complacency, not to legitimise it. Without that pressure, we risk settling for more of the same.
Very important points, well made, Deana. That said, it’s quite unusual for BayBuzz to be challenged as ‘soft’ on our councils. I can assure you that’s not a view councils share! But in any event, we are definitely on the same page regarding BayBuzz’s role being to demand accountability and challenge complacency. Stay tuned!
Please don’t build a Waka Hub. The Orcas should be able to come right into the Inner Harbour and say hi anytime. They are the real spiritual leaders because they don’t care if you’re black or white.
Great to hear another Napier Councillor is on her way. Bye bye. Also, good to hear Richard McGrath will be running against the current Mayor. A much more approachable person who listens to his community and puts the basics over vanity projects. Good luck Richard.
Whoever gets in (and I’m one of many who will ne voting), take a good hard look at the books and start again. Top down – time for a major clean out from the top (including Mayors, CEs and Executive Staff) where all the vanity projects and iwi minority bullcrap comes from. Less of our hard earned money on bullcrap, subjective surveys and things that aren’t part of your pervue. Thanks.
Sandra’s out. Next please to old blue eyes smiling assassin, Grey Beard and The Pits Mcgee. Boots be with you.