KCRA delays petition to meet Commissioners regarding debt reduction

KCRA will meet the Commissioners on Monday 17th, and so we have postponed the planned formal release of the petition until we hear what steps the commissioners propose to take regarding the matters we propose to put before the ratepayers and residents.

While it is essential all parties work towards the recovery of Kaipara, it is firstly essential that the major concerns of ratepayers are addressed or guaranteed to be addressed in the best interests of ratepayers without compromise.

• The situation regards the Mangawhai Waste Water Scheme (Ecocare) and the untenable rates proposals for these ratepayers and others affected by the LongTerm Plan (LTP) must be urgently resolved.

• The situation of unbearable rate increases for many, especially the elderly and those on fixed incomes must be attended.

• The situation for farmers, many facing reductions in income of around $200,000 must be attended.

Reductions in rates is therefore the key priority, and until the communities have confidence these will be satisfactorily addressed, the commissioners may well find they have received a “hospital pass,” with unpredictable and potentially serious consequences for ratepayers, residents, businesses, banks, and Government.

Reduced rates while essential services are maintained requires the council debt and / or interest rates on debt to be substantially decreased. KCRA is concerned the Commissioners Terms Of Reference do not sufficiently address this, although there is some indication from the Review Team of significant cost savings potential.

KCRA will therefore listen with interest, and hope to receive sufficient written assurances these matters will be immediately addressed to the satisfaction of the relevant groups. We will release the petition in present or modified form depending on the meeting with the Commissioners and other matters KCRA is studying. In particular we see the necessity to pursue reduction in the council debts by recoveries from a range of entities, and this will almost certainly require the backing of the community, and may well be complementary to the matters the Commissioners Terms Of Reference confine them to.

Above all, ratepayers and residents must become more engaged in local government and support those entities pursuing their best interests, e.g. MRRA, FONZ and KCRA through membership and donations.

More details on the KCRA website www.kcra.org.nz

ENDS

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