One of the topics up for discussion was what councils around the country need to do, or could do, to win back public approval. I have to be honest: I left that room - and you know my views on councils - feeling just a little bit sorry for the councillors and mayors I met.
The ones I spoke to seemed to be honestly trying. They admitted they’ve got more to do and that there are stupid costs they need to cut as well. But what they told me is that they’re up against it.
They’re dealing with things they can’t change: national laws like the RMA that tie their hands, and unelected staff who just go ahead and do their own thing. And sure enough, there’s a story that illustrates at least some of that perfectly.
Wellington City Council staff have spent $130,000 on new art for their flash new building - a building where they’ve hogged the top floors and shoved the mayor downstairs, where he’s staring at a wall.
Now, the thing is, they don’t need art. They have no money and they’re going hard on Wellington ratepayers. They do not need to be spending on art. They’ve already got an extensive collection they could draw from, which includes Colin McCahon, Toss Woollaston, Ralph Hotere, Dick Frizzell - Pablo Picasso, for goodness’ sake.
Judging by the criticism from elected councillors, it seems those councillors didn’t even know the unelected staff were splashing out on fancy art.
That’s what these people are up against: bureaucrats who treat ratepayers like a bottomless ATM. That is a major problem.
Now, I’m not making excuses for elected councillors or mayors - they have their own part to play in big spending.
But some of them are genuinely trying. They’re just up against decades of ingrained largesse like this.
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and commentator who hosts Newstalk ZB's Drive show.
6 comments:
Did you happen to ask the councillors and mayors why they don't just fire these people?
Wellington must be at the bottom of the list for trust in elected council members. Just look at the destructive behavior of the previous far left, green party member mayor - tory whanau . Yet they keep electing these sub par far left loonies.
It takes decades to build good quality solid infrastructure. It takes minutes, the stroke of a pen by an incompetent whacko to tear it down.
Until they wake up, Welly is getting what it voted for.
When you have department level budget approval once a year, and funds are availalbe no questions asked if its in the budget, this is a large part of the problem.
We have all heard the stories of "we have $XXXXX left in this years budget , we need to spend it so budget is not decreased next year" time for a huge structural change.
You are right, Heather. But the $130K on the artwork pales to insignificance in relation to the $40million dollar cost of shifting and fitting-out the office space in a building they don't even own. Then again, that's small change against an under-utilised, arguably superfluous Events Centre, and an unusable Town Hall that is an insatiable money vacuum.
Wellington ratepayers are suckers, but then they do vote 'left' and endorse the fiction of the need for Maori wards. Perhaps this is justice served?
Public service in NZ - local or central- has taken a life of its own. Looks like that the elected members have no powers to control the mischief. There are countless evidence of decisions of the executive that contradict current governance direction. It is time the parliament change the way public service is employed and managed.
Anon @8.07 am -- That is an issue, Councils are set up like Corporates so it is only the CEO who can fire the bureaucrats. But the elected Councilors have to find their backbone and put pressure on the CEO to stop the nonsense. Until that happens and hopefully a few of the unelected staff lose their jobs, nothing will change.
The Wellington City Council CEO commissioned a report from a top tier consultancy firm, to review it's operations etc. ( cost $400K) late last year. One of the findings was the Council was 30% over staffed --nothing has happened to staffing levels since.
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