Rotorua residents face possible 7.2 percent rates rise in draft annual plan

By Laura Smith, Local Democracy Reporter

A potential 7.2 percent rates rise could be on the cards for Rotorua residents, but a ratepayer advocate believes the process toward setting it has been secretive.

Elected members will next week vote whether to approve the draft annual plan to go out for public consultation on 11 April.

There have been two council forums and one council meeting to discuss and debate the way forward, but none have been open to the public.

The meeting was public-excluded for five reasons including to protect information where making it available would be likely otherwise to damage the public interest, prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or improper advantage and for commercial sensitivity.

In a report for the meeting next Wednesday, councillors were recommended to approve a month of consultation until 12 May based on a proposed rates increase of 7.2 percent, a capital works programme of $138 million and borrowing of $47m.

Last year's was set to an average general rates increase of 5.7 percent.

District Leadership and Democracy deputy chief executive Oonagh Hopkins wrote the report and noted what the forums and meeting involved.

At the 15 February meeting, the council discussed its activities and considered all fit its priorities, and the question became what fit it less. The council's financial state was also presented.

Elected members were told if they wanted to continue with what had been proposed in the long-term plan, a rates increase of 11.5 percent was needed.

"Council then undertook an exercise where they indicated where activities could be enhanced, reduced, stopped, or funded differently.

"In addition to this [the] council indicated, based on the priorities and activity alignment, what an appropriate rates increase for consultation might look like."

At its second forum on 8 March, councillors considered 45 proposals officers developed that could set out to deliver a rates increase of about 6.8 percent, a capital expenditure programme of about $132 million and required additional borrowing of about $45 million.

At the 22 March meeting, which was public-excluded, councillors debated proposals and decided whether or not to accept them.

"In making decisions on each proposal it has provided for finalising a draft annual budget and what the proposed rates increase (7.2 percent), capital expenditure programme ($138m) and borrowing requirements ($47m) will be, which in turn forms the basis for public consultation."

Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers chairman Reynold Macpherson said he was "appalled" by what he viewed as "the secrecy surrounding the preparation and consideration" of the draft plan.

He said there was neither a planned release of reports given by officials to elected members, nor a recording of debates.

Macpherson also said he believed the affordability of rates rises to ratepayers was disregarded, and the "concerted secrecy will continue" until just before the 5 April meeting when elected members are provided the draft plan and budget.

Both the mayor and the council declined to comment on Macpherson's comments.

Local Democracy Reporting asked councillors what they thought about the proposed rates rise, how they would vote, how they felt about the process and what they thought about its transparency.

Councillor Trevor Maxwell said they had spent a "very long day debating the many options".

He felt hui and forums should be more transparent, and be the same as council and committee meetings except where there were commercial or legal sensitivities.

Councillor Robert Lee felt the 7.2 percent rise was as low as they could have made it, but also noted it came at a cost to some council services.

"We all voted individually on 45 different items on March 22. The 7.2 percent [increase] represents the cumulative result of the individual choices we made together."

Lee said it was not obvious to him why the March meeting needed to be confidential for most of the items considered.

"I thought the public and media would have benefitted from hearing the questions and discussion on each of the items."

He believed every councillor was uncomfortable with aspects of the plan and changes would be made after consultation. This was why feedback was important, he said.

"I am confident the consultation process will be authentic and worth the time and effort of the public to help shape the future of Rotorua."

Tapsell said elected members should not know how they would vote on the plan prior to receiving feedback from the community.

For other questions she referred to comments she made in a council press release, which included her comment that getting the possible rise down meant there would be an impact on both the community and the council.

"These are challenging times for both our community and for [the] council and we've had to make some tough calls to try and balance what our community needs most right now with our responsibility for financial prudence."

She said the council was under pressure with rising costs and inflation and unbudgeted costs from weather events and labour market pressures.

Councillor Fisher Wang said it was never easy setting rates and there was a lot of balancing costs and benefits to the community while also bearing in mind investment.

He said he will vote to support the plan going out for consultation as he wanted to hear from the community what was important to them.

Wang said he had concerns about aspects of the plan and he would only support a plan he was confident would focus on how it invested in and supported the community.

"We have had a rigorous process to get to this point, involving many complex issues and discussions."

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air