Budget axe hangs over community groups

Hamilton City Council tries to save $14.5 million in three yearsSurf Life Saving New Zealand says it may have to reduce services to some beaches. Photo / Doug Sherring

Proposed budget cuts to tracking down graffiti taggers, work placement programmes and grants to community organisations will be considered by the Hamilton City Council in a bid to save $14.5 million over the next three years.

The council will this week consider a report by officials recommending cutting services provided by the community development unit to save $1.3 million.

The staff recommendations are part of a full review of council spending as it looks to address significant financial issues in the 2012-2022 long term plan.

But community groups which stand to lose tens of thousand of dollars in funding, such as Surf Life Saving New Zealand, say the grant cuts would lead to significant cuts in services.

Surf Lifesaving general manager Brett Sullivan said the organisation stood to lose $50,000 and would have to look either at removing an entire patrol from a beach or scaling back its services at several beaches.

It could also mean fewer life guards or reducing the number of weeks beaches were patrolled.

Sport Waikato chief executive Matthew Cooper said the suggestion of scrapping $10,000 from a senior sports fund which supports seven exercise programmes for older people in the city would be a blow to the city promotion of a "healthier and happier Hamilton".

The council has already committed to cut costs by 10 per cent ($14.5 million) and increase revenue by 5 per cent in the next three years and the latest recommendations set out how it can achieve these goals.

Up to $50 million of council-owned assets, including pensioner housing, will also be discussed on Thursday in a closed part of the meeting.

Council deputy chief executive Blair Bowcott said the council was looking at how it could deliver its activities more cheaply through innovation, fewer staff and looking at what services it provided.

Hamilton Mayor Julie Hardaker said the proposed budget cuts were only suggestions at this stage, as the council would have the final say on what was taken out of the long term plan.

The community development unit review proposes some of the biggest cuts.

These include canning the council's transition to work programme. This is aimed at reducing the number of long-term unemployed people by giving them paid full-time employment at the council for up to 25 weeks at a saving of $364,606 a year.

Accepting all of the proposed cuts to the community development unit would also result in about 11 redundancies.

The city's community groups could also be looking elsewhere for funding as the council considers removing $470,000 of grants.

Two of the biggest cuts would be the removal of $93,000 from the a holiday programme and $45,000 from the After School programme grant.

A proposed reduction in service could also lead to the investigative part of the Graffiti Tag Busters Team being dropped from July 2013.

However, the council would still be committed to removing graffiti within two days.

Facing the chop

Community services being considered for cutsCost per year

* Work on tracking down graffiti taggers - $62,331
* Transition to work programme - $364,606
* Neighbourhood and youth development teams - $149,000
* Social development team policy advice and administration - $74,500
* Community facilities team programmes, administration and management - $143,540
* Community grants towards some projects such as out-of-school care programmes, surf lifesaving - $470,000.