Ele Ludemann: Councils must refocus

The government is telling councils to refocus on needs not wants :

The Government’s plan to refocus councils on core services, such as roading, core infrastructure, water, and rubbish, has taken a major step forward with the introduction of the Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill to Parliament.

 

Local Government Minister Simon Watts says the Bill will help restore discipline, transparency and performance across the sector, to the benefit of ratepayers.

“Kiwis are frustrated with rising rates, expanding bureaucracy, and poor value for money. This Bill puts councils back to work on the basics, their core services, so ratepayers see real results for what they pay.”

The Bill is part of the Government’s System Improvementsprogramme, first announced by the Prime Minister in August 2024, and responds directly to public frustration over deteriorating infrastructure, rising rates, and lack of financial focus. .

In councils’ defence, successive governments have required more from them without providing any finance for those extras.

But that is only part of the cause of unsustainable rates rises, the bigger contributor is the power of general competence which was bestowed on councils by a previous government,.

For many that was a licence to spend on shiny things at the expense of their core business, and ratepayers.

Key reforms in the Bill include:

• A renewed focus on core services in the statutory purpose of local government by removing the four ‘well-beings’
• A requirement to prioritise core services when managing finances and setting rates
• New financial performance measures for councils, with a requirement for regular public reporting
• Mandatory disclosure of contractor and consultant spending
• Stronger transparency and accountability requirements
• Regulatory relief to reduce unnecessary compliance burdens

I would add another requirement – that of an audit of infrastructure to ensure it was being provided, maintained, and where necessary upgraded, as it should be.

“Local government has drifted from their core responsibilities. This Bill draws a line in the sand – focus on the essentials and deliver value for your community,” Mr Watts says.

“This refocusing of our councils will help to deliver better value for money, and ultimately help with addressing the number one issue people are dealing with right now, which is cost of living.

“I have made it clear that the Government will not support new taxes and revenue tools for local authorities at a time when we believe there is scope for improvement in the value for money New Zealanders receive in return for their rates.

“To that end, we are working at pace on a rates cap model, and I look forward to providing an update later this year.” . .

The Taxpayers’ Union found that council rates have increased by up to 65%:

Rates increases at levels double the scale of inflation over the past three years show local bodies’ spending needs to be reined in, the Taxpayers’ Union says.

The lobby group has released its rates dashboard which ranks local bodies across the country on how much they have increased rates.

It’s been campaigning for the government to bring in a cap on rates increases.

Its survery found, on average, rates have increased 34.4 percent in total over the past three years – that’s more than two-and-a-half times the rate of inflation during the same period.

“Over the last three years West Coast Regional Council had a rates increase of 65 percent. It’s absolutely up there and it’s driving the cost of living for a lot of people,” Taxpayers Union local government campaigns manager Sam Warren said. . .

Click to view

The TU has published a government briefing paper, Building Better Councils, which provides a road map to reduce waste and improve performance across the local government sector.

It has also published a dashboard showing how much rates have increased for each council.

Rates are one of the biggest contributors to inflation forcing us to pay more twice – first for the rates and again for price increases across the board.

This is unsustainable and the focus on core business can’t come soon enough.

Ele Ludemann is a North Otago farmer and journalist, who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced.