A four-page flyer from the Ratepayers and Residents Association has been dropped in some letterboxes around Ōamaru, suggesting ways the Waitaki District Council could cut costs in an effort to fund its $15 million contribution to the Waitaki Event Centre. Council chief executive Alex Parmley offers some responses to claims made in the flyer:

The Waitaki Ratepayers and Residents Association flyer is disappointing in that it is largely inaccurate, misleading and some of the suggestions would harm our district and community. We are happy to work with the association to provide accurate information to residents.

Council is supporting the development of the Waitaki Event Centre because there was a clear message from our community that this was wanted and it will produce long-term benefits to our community and economy. 

The Event Centre Trust continues to work hard to make sure most of the cost does not fall on ratepayers, and many individuals and businesses have reached into their own pockets to support this exciting project. 

Council is working to ensure that not all of our contribution to the event centre falls on ratepayers. 

Waitaki Ratepayers and Residents Association claim: "A source of money that's proposed to pay down some of the borrowing is selling council property":

Alex's response: The recent review of our property shows we have some properties that are not generating enough benefit for our community. 

While some properties could be put to different uses by council, others may be surplus, therefore selling them could support the council in reinvesting back into projects and community facilities such as the Event Centre. 

Waitaki Ratepayers and Residents Association claim: "In six years, full-time positions at council have grown from 106 to 175 . . . By holding the line at a personnel budget of $16million, this would save $1.7m per year".

Alex's response: Every council has seen staff increases in recent years as Parliament passes laws that place new burdens on local authorities, but without giving them money to meet new obligations. 

Waitaki District Council, and every council in the country, is calling for this to end. We are demanding that if laws are passed that mean we have increased costs and staffing, the Government should give funds to us to cover this.

Cutting staffing now would mean we either take staff away from services and so reduce the services to residents, or we do not meet the legal requirements placed on us, which could lead to us paying ratepayer money over in fines and penalties.

Waitaki Ratepayers and Residents Association claim about the Transformation Plan the council is in the midst of: "There has never been a simple, coherent explanation of what 'transformation' will mean, but it's certainly costing a lot of money".

Alex's response: We want to share with the community very soon, more about what we are doing to transform your council. The Transformation Programme aims are clear – we want to be a more efficient organisation that delivers more effectively for our community. 

The programme is targeting some big changes that need to be carefully planned, to make sure we get the most benefit for our residents. Stopping the programme part way through, before we have realised the benefits, would be nonsensical and a waste of the money we have invested so far. 

Waitaki Ratepayers and Residents Association claim: "Council spent $2.7m on consultants in the year ending April 30".

Alex's response: Like all councils, we do need to use consultants from time to time, but we do so only when necessary. 

We are not a big organisation, so do not always have the skills and expertise inside the council to do the things we need to do. Some of the skills and expertise we only need for a short time, so it makes no sense to employ new staff as this would be costly and a waste.

Recently, like most organisations in New Zealand, we have found it hard to recruit people with the skills we need and so we have had to use consultants and contractors to get things done. We will continue to only use consultants where necessary.

Better Off Funding

The Ratepayers Association continue to claim we should have used the Government “Better Off Funding” to offset rates.

As we have shown them on many occasions, the government rules say we can’t do this and the government checked our plans before they agreed to them.

We have also demonstrated to the association our planned use of the money is not to produce reports, but to make improvements in the district. 

The money is being invested in improving our town centres, supporting new businesses, dealing with the shortage of homes for families in the district, improving health services and protecting our local environment.

Waitaki Ratepayers and Residents Association claim: "Council takes more than $1 million per year of our money, and give it away in bits and pieces to individuals and groups... the grants programme has lost its way and become a public relations device, or worse".

Alex's response: The council’s grants programme is an important part of how we support our community. Rather than being a public relations exercise, we probably have not talked enough about this and the benefits many of the groups supported bring to our community.

Each grant is carefully assessed to ensure it is delivering real value and benefit to our district and community. In addition, a large chunk of the grants funding is given to council by government bodies to administer, rather than all coming from the ratepayer. 

While we need to continue to make sure the grants are used well, cutting the grants pot back would mean all of us are worse off in the district by undermining the work of some truly brilliant groups and community-minded people. 

Finally, the council continues to work to ensure it makes efficient use of ratepayer funds and our Transformation Programme will help us with this. The cuts suggested by the ratepayers association are not realistic, and many make no sense – some of the group’s suggestions would have a real negative impact on our community and our district.