ORC to seek feedback on cutting rates rise

Otago regional councillors have backed away from making drastic cuts to rates rises in the face of escalating living costs.

In an 8-3 vote the council decided to go ahead with targeted consultation on a planned 18% general rates rise.

However, the council will ask ratepayers to give an opinion on the "affordability" of next year’s work programme.

Yesterday’s special council meeting was called to find savings next year after concerns were raised last week that imminent annual plan consultations would be a sham if councillors had already made their minds up to significantly drop the rates rise during deliberations.

Nevertheless, it appeared some appetite remained for some kind of clawback.

As Cr Kate Wilson set up yesterday’s vote she said she was putting forward the 18% increase "as a straw man".

"To try and cut things now without having first heard from the community I think is foolish," she said.

At the start of yesterday’s meeting, chief executive Sarah Gardner reminded councillors the council had already consulted on an 18% increase when it set the present long-term plan.

"It is our firm view that the kind of savings you are looking for cannot be achieved without a likely decrease in level of service, which is one of the reasons why it has been difficult for us to come to you with any absolute recommendations," Mrs Gardner said.

Corporate services general manager Nick Donnelly said the suggested approach of looking for savings in a piecemeal fashion would not work to meet the goal of cutting up to $3.5 million from the budget.

"That is massive and you’re not going to get that by just going through and trimming a couple of grand here and there.

"You’re going to have to take out whole pieces of activity and you’re going to have to change significantly what you are delivering to the public."

Cr Bryan Scott said he hoped people would see they get value for money from their rates and that the council was continuing to do what it needed to do to protect the environment.

Cr Gretchen Robertson said younger ratepayers would likely support spending now instead of later.

"Restoring a degraded system is always more expensive than maintaining an ongoing work programme, whether it be a polluted stream, a rabbit plague, a weed infestation — whatever it is, it’s far better to act now than to delay."

Chairman Cr Andrew Noone said the council was a complex organisation and work programmes with a two- or three-year implementation highlighted the challenge of "shaving off" budgets.

"We are still plugging gaps that have been deficient over the years and that work must continue," Cr Noone said.

Crs Gary Kelliher, Michael Laws and Hilary Calvert voted against going ahead with a proposal for an 18% general rates rise.

Cr Kelliher said at yesterday’s meeting he saw "a total lack of willingness to compromise" from staff.

Councillors were not asking to "totally wipe" work from the work programme, he said.

"Maybe look at some tweaking and changing across our business as usual that might have instead of 16 highlighted staff members needed maybe 14.

"That could make some significant changes and I haven’t seen the willingness to consider that."

Cr Michael Laws said he was "very, very disappointed".

"There has been around this table and with the staff, I think, a collective lack of intellect and imagination - and our community can justly feel disappointed with us, and a little bit disgusted.

"The question is ‘What’s changed since we did the annual plan or long-term plan last year?’

"And the answer is, ‘The world’."

Consultation begins tomorrow, feedback will be presented to councillors in May, and the annual plan is due to be adopted in June.

hamish.maclean@odt.co.nz