RDRR RATES REVIEW CALLS FOR MAJOR REFORMS

Press Release: Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers, 15August 2018

The RDRR’s rates review has called on the Rotorua Lakes Council to reform financial planning and management policies, and address fourteen hot issues.

“Council needs a fresh strategy for financial planning, including rating,” said Glenys Searancke, Chair of the RDRR. “It needs to hardwire planned expenditure to revenue (rates, other revenue and borrowings) so that ratepayers can see how balanced annual budgets will lead to debt reduction. It needs to reschedule its capital projects and operational priorities and cut waste to live within its means.”

It also needs to rethink fourteen urgent issues, she said. Top of the list is the affordability of rates. Close behind are balanced annual budgets, the balance between perceived affordability and user-pays, and the relative value for money of Rotorua’s UAGC, its targeted rates for business and economic development, and its refuse/ waste collection systems.

“The other hot issues include the equity of different payment plans for the capital costs of sewerage schemes,” said Reynold Macpherson, RDRR Secretary. “We need realistic and indexed rates rebates, a rates management information system, and to better understand the inflationary effects of different rates rises by sector.”

Other big challenges, he said, are reconciling Council’s coming and expanded responsibilities with its capacity to fund services effectively and fairly, probably with Government help. It needs to lower the ‘normal’ level on unpaid rates. The people want annual rates reviews that invite written submissions and public hearings by the whole of council, in particular to accept feedback on waste, Council leadership, affordability, value for money and inflationary effects.

RDRR will ask Council to discuss their 28-page report instead of an in-house review proposed to be run by officials that will conduct councillor workshops and confidential focus groups with selected stakeholders. The report is freely available from the RDRR Secretary.

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