Grey Power September 2018

8
NZ GREYPOWER MAGAZINE » SEPTEMBER 2018
Rates affordability
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lifestyle
The affordability of local body rates has been a matter
of serious concern for Grey Power members for a long
time. We have had many debates and listened to a wide
range of proposed solutions to a complex issue which
few people outside, and even inside, local bodies fully
understand.
BY TOM O’CONNOR, GREY POWER
FEDERATION IMMEDIATE PAST
PRESIDENT, WAIMATE DISTRICT
COUNCILLOR
We have had all manner of suggestions
from creating regional
currencies to abolishing
all forms of local body rates and having
them replaced by regional or local
income taxes.
It has even been suggested that local
bodies themselves should be abolished
and all local facilities and services should
be provided by Central Government and
paid for via income and financial transaction
taxes and even a poll tax.
At the heart of the matter is the inescapable
fact that local bodies are obliged
to provide essential services for subdivisions
and other developments over which
they have little control and the only means
of financing those essential services is by
rates which are governed by very restrictive
and prescriptive laws.
Major changes to that basic system are
highly unlikely.
Many local authorities are also faced
with a backlog of years of underfunding
of essential services by previous councils.
In an effort to keep rate rises down some
essential expenditure, including depreciation
funding, was put off for “sometime
in the future.”
In some regions that time has arrived
and the status quo is no longer an acceptable
option.
Existing reserve funds are now insufficient
to meet the rising costs of roads
and the new standards for drinking water,
waste water and sewage systems.
Roading in particular is a major issue
as the buoyant economy the country is
enjoying is dependent on road transport
more so than ever before in our history.
Freight which was once carried by rail or
by coastal shipping is now carried by an
ever increasing fleet of huge trucks.
When most of our roads were built the
heaviest trucks on the road were about
15 tons. Now we have five times as many
long haul freight trucks with many weighing
50 tons. The impact on all roads is not
difficult to imagine.
In 2014 Local Government New Zealand
(LGNZ) launched a Local Government
Funding Review because the
sustainability of local government funding
had become an increasingly important
policy issue in the face of rapid demographic
and economic changes.
The review recognises that New Zealand
councils have a high reliance on
property taxes, which is unusual by international
standards. No results from that
review have yet been published.
While it is easy to berate our local authorities
for the current situation, most
did not create the problem and many have
few realistic options.
That situation will not change until
a second year-long review of local body
funding is complete by the Government
and the review committee’s recommendations
have been considered.
At the recent annual conference of Local
Government New Zealand (LGNZ)
New Zealand’s leading local government
law firm presented an informative and
easy to read document entitled Unlocking
the Local Authority Infrastructure Puzzle.
In it they clearly outline the serious issues
faced by local authorities and an interesting
range of options which local and
central Government should consider.
The document is too long to publish
here but it can be accessed on www.simpsongrierson.com
For any Grey Power association considering
a submission either to their local
authority or Central Government on the
issue this document would be an ideal
start point.
Life membership for South
Otago couple
Des and Meryl Hewson
got more than
they expected at
a recent meeting of Grey
Power South Otago.
The husband and wife
team have dedicated 26
years of service to the organisation
and were recently
presented with life
membership awards at a
club ceremony.
The pair had no idea the
awards were in the pipeline.
In fact they turned up
to what they thought was a
regular meeting and went
to pay their monthly fee
only to be told that there
was no need.
Club president John
Fenby says the pair has
taken on a variety of roles
over the years and are a key
part of the organisation.
Des Hewson has held
most positions at Grey
Power South Otago, in-
cluding president, vicepresident,
secretary and
treasurer.
Both Des and Meryl
have been involved since
the South Otago branch
was first formed, and when
the organisation hit a lull a
decade in, they stepped up
to keep momentum going
and foster new members.
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