Cr Michael Laws said yesterday the council was over-staffed in some areas, should take more of a dividend from the council-owned Port Otago and should defer work on the new Dunedin city centre council headquarters.
In response, Cr Alexa Forbes said the council’s staff were already stretched thinly, the port company’s dividend of $15 million next year was sufficient and the case for a centralised council office building was well established.
Councillors will today publicly debate proposed changes to the third year of the council’s long-term plan — and a projected 18.8% rates rise — for the first time after a series of closed-door workshops on the matter since November.
Cr Laws resigned as deputy chairman of the council last year over a similar rates rise.
"I then accused the organisation of lacking the intellect or insight to appreciate that ORC’s ‘cost-plus’ mentality was a solution to anything.
"My thoughts remain the same on this year’s increase.
"The greatest expense is staff salaries and last year I argued that we are over-staffed in some areas, should defer certain programmes to smooth out the rates increases and draw more realistic dividends from the 100%-owned Port of Otago.
"This coming year I’d argue the Whare Runaka [ORC HQ project] should be deferred.
"It’s not critical spending and there needs to be a decentralisation of staffing to the provinces, especially to Dunstan where the bulk of the ORC’s work is being done."
Compared with when the long-term plan was drafted, the council and ratepayers lived in "a new financial world".
There was a cost-of-living crisis, higher interest rates, inflation beyond 7%, "massive regulatory burdens upon the rural sector" and a natural disaster in the North Island that would result in raised taxes and reduced central government funding.
Cr Laws said he was keen for an independent review of staffing.
"I’ve made all these suggestions in council workshops — stating them repeatedly.
"A projected 19% ORC rates increase would be a crime against common sense."
The council’s long-term plan — now in its third year — initially forecast a 12% rates rise.
However, in a report going to the council today, corporate planning manager Mike Roesler said councillors had indicated a desire to stay the course with the long-term plan’s work programme.
That led to the 18.8% rates rise because of inflationary "and general market increases", he said.
Cr Forbes said the increased rates rise was "purely inflation" and she challenged Cr Laws to identify "which work does he not want done".
"Work has to continue and has to be done.
"We’re already slow. We are already finding it really hard to respond to demands that are being made by the situations that we find ourselves in in terms of changes for laws, changes for policy statements, climate change.
"All of these things cost money."
Councillors had been well briefed on the need for a new headquarters and the port company was paying a good dividend at $15 million this year, she said.
