NoMoreRates.com
Thursday, 7 June 2012

[Statement from David Thornton]

Ratepayers welcome new legislation to control spendthrift councils.

Ratepayers will welcome some of the proposed changes to Local Government legislation just presented to Parliament in the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill

Of most interest will be proposals to bring councils spending, borrowing and rates increases under permanent scrutiny at Ministry level.

After years of complaint from all sections of the rate-paying community it appears that a framework will be put in place which will allow the Minister to intervene in the affairs of any council which appears to be heading for financial problems.

The framework is built around a set of financial prudence requirements in respect of income, expenditure and prudent debt levels.

These requirements will be set in place by way of regulation, and will allow central government to intervene in various ways where councils exceed the regulated prudent levels.

More controversial elements of the new legislation include a proposal to extend powers to Mayors similar to those given to the Mayor of Auckland.

Many Auckland ratepayers are expressing their dissatisfaction with the new Auckland Council, in particular the way their submissions to control rates and re-think the Central Rail Link, have been ignored by the Mayor in his leadership role.

A more acceptable provision in the legislation will be the ability for the elected council to control staff numbers and staff remuneration levels.

This new legislation brings promise of much more protection for ratepayers from spendthrift councils which have approved savage rate increases in recent years without any thought of the ratepayers’ ability to pay.

Ratepayers may be less enthusiastic at some of the appointments to the Local Government Efficiency Review Taskforce, set up to “.. focus on improvements to local government consultation, planning and financial reporting requirements and practices,” in the words of Local Government Minister David Carter.

Regrettably the Taskforce does not include ratepayer group representatives – the people most affected in any review of council spending.

The group appears to be mostly current or former local politicians and council chief executives – the very people who have been instigators of rate rises over the years!

ends

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