MEDIA RELEASE 16 April 2009

FROM: THE RUSSELL EXECUTIVE

Russell Ready for Another Fight

Russell community leaders are urging locals to send a whopping mail bag to the Far North District Council to show their opposition to proposals in the council’s draft future plan the LTCCP. The latest council move to get Russell ratepayers ratty are proposals for hefty new waste water charges targeted solely at the village.

Despite opposition from several councilors, the Mayor is seeking to separately charge Russell for its sewage system; suggesting that other communities are subsidising Russell and that by supporting his proposal their own sewage rates would be reduced. The LTCCP is currently calling for all communities, including Russell, to pay around $100 extra sewage rates next year per property. Another $100 is planned to be added to water rates bills. Under the proposals Russell sewage rates would go from around $600 a year to as much as $2,000.

Councillor Anne Court asks why Russell is being singled out for special treatment when other communities enjoyed across the district subsidies. “This is not thinking like a district council, targeting one community and making it stand alone’ she says. “We cross subsidise across this district every day. Sewage is part of that.”

Mayor Brown says the people in Kerikeri are wondering why they are funding a scheme in Kerikeri, and one in Russell. David McKenzie, from the Russell Business Association, in turn wonders why the people in Russell, already paying on average the highest rates per residence in the district, have paid toward a massive beautification programme for Kerikeri when we frequently have to chase the council to get our own streets cleaned. “ ‘This is very divisive policy, “ says Mr McKenzie ‘if carried to its ultimate conclusion every community in the Far North will have to be self sustaining. It is ridiculous and impractical.” Councillors Court, Baker and Byers have indicated they will oppose the proposition.

If the last time the council tried to push the good citizens of Russell around is anything to go by they will put up a vigorous and well supported fight. In fact Russellites are wondering whether there is more than a little pay back in the new sewage proposals. The Council got something of a black eye when it recently tried to force the small community to take large amounts of the rest of the district’s waste into Russell’s community tip with no consultation and clearly little, if any, planning. Council hadn’t done its homework, was deemed to be acting outside the resource consents and despite lots of threats and bullying, quietly backed down.

Martin Leiding ,of the Russell Executive says the arguments are stacked against the council if they pick another fight with Russell. It was council that needlessly wasted millions with budget blowouts and stuff-ups over a sewerage scheme that many locals agreed to only reluctantly and which was budgeted at $3.5 million but eventually cost over $13 million.

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