Rates are escalating out of control. Satisfaction with councils is plummeting on the back of failure to deliver core services adequately.
There are complaints about councils getting involved with issues that are not local and/ or amount to telling the government what to do about things we haven’t given them any mandate to become involved in.
If we privately ask for budget advice not much time will be spent on whether you have a rich uncle who could send you money. The discussion will be around being honest and clear about your current outgoings.
If your income is less than the outgoings we will need to look at each item to decide whether it is necessary and whether it could be scaled back or done more cheaply.
We might look at selling something that we are no longer using. We might decide the gym membership stays but the personal trainer doesn’t.
In general we will have a hard look at what we really need.
Councils could do this as well, especially since we have no rich uncle, it turns out.
They could start by looking at what they are obliged to do, such as water in and out, rubbish disposal, roads and footpaths.
Next up in priorities would be the stuff councils do because they need to be done as a communal effort rather than individually, such as pools, sports grounds, town halls, swimming pools etc.
Then there are obligations imposed on councils by central government such as regulatory functions and public transport.
Also imposed by government are planning requirements such as who is allowed to do what and where.
And some instructions as to how we should carry out our business such as employment obligations.
What needs to be done can also be thought about as to how to carry out work as efficiently as possible.
It would be interesting to look at what our rates would be if we stopped here.
As an indication, about half the Bath St upgrade in Dunedin is earmarked for earthworks, stormwater, roading pavement, lighting and road marking.
The other half you would think must be extras such as the suggested street crossing art which looks like a cross between a drunken maypole dancer who walked in a paint pot and a game of Twister.
If this is an indication of projects in general there may be many areas we could save half what is currently being spent.
Major blowouts in rates bills can come from clusters of people who work in areas which councillors would have a hard job convincing the budget adviser were not disposable when there is not enough money.
There are staff involved with declaring and supervising a climate emergency which has been declared by various councils. (This is over and above the work done to reduce rubbish to landfill and the like which is required work).
There are whole departments busy providing reports to councils so that meetings can be held to decide on whether to take a moral stand on central government workings.
It is certainly not core business to tell government how to go about its business to be virtuous on behalf of all ratepayers. Even if some councillors campaigned on virtuous proclamations they do not speak for all ratepayers on such issues.
There are many more than there used to be communications people whose jobs now go way beyond just keeping us in touch with what we are being consulted on and what is happening in our area with our rates.
Our ratepayers’ money is spent on trying to make councils diverse, seemingly prioritising diversity over knowledge of how to deliver great services effectively and efficiently.
And every time a council extends its reach away from services which we all agree it should provide it takes meetings upon meetings and reports on reports to decide how to carry out these activities.
Very little council time is spent discussing core services. Very few complaints come from ratepayers about core services.
If councils kept to their knitting we could have council meetings which are less frequent. More people could stand for council since there would be less time commitment. The rates would be who knows how much lower.
Ratepayers could be diverse in their own time, and have their own thoughts about their ethical positions.
We could get ahead of the clear direction of government here and be bold and innovative about how we reset core service delivery.
It is annual plan time at the beginning of the year. We will see if councils are listening.
■Hilary Calvert is a former Otago regional councillor, MP and Dunedin city councillor.
