Commission fronts up on amalgamation

QUERY:Graeme Tod, of Greytown, asks a question about rates during a presentation by the Local Government Commission at the Carterton Events Centre.

Senior Local Government Commission (LGC) staff fronted up to explain the finer points of the super-city proposal to concerned ratepayers at a public meeting hosted by Masterton Toastmasters.

LGC's chief executive Sandra Preston and senior adviser Don MacKay braved questions from an animated audience of about 150 at the Carterton Events Centre on Wednesday night.

Ms Preston opened the meeting by speaking about the proposal's key points, what it might mean for Wairarapa and outlined the submission process and rules for a referendum.

She said under the draft proposal mayors and councillors would be responsible for high-level regional matters, such as rates policies, the Resource Management Act and the Building Act. Local boards would be responsible for things such as the operation of local sports facilities, libraries and community and social events.

If a local board wished to build a new facility, such as a motorsport park, it would have to present a case to the council for approval, Ms Preston said.

Wellington local boards would be different from those in Auckland, she added. "What's proposed here is a bit different than Auckland. Wellington local boards will be more integrated with the council and have greater influence, for example two local councillors would be appointed to the local board to ensure good co-ordination."

Addressing the question of why a Wairarapa unitary authority had been discounted by the LGC, Ms Preston said nine different consultants had identified a funding gap of anywhere between $2 million and $11 million if the unitary authority was to pick up the responsibilities of the regional council.

"The commission came to the view that while the number may not be as high as 11 it will probably be higher than two."

Services that fell into the funding gap were big ticket items such as trains and flood protection, which were a challenge for an area with a small ratings base and a large geographic area, Ms Preston said.

The super-city proposal presented a "once in a generation opportunity" to reform local government so it could meet the region's needs for the next 30 years, she said.

"There are weaknesses in the ability of the current structures to make decisions where a cohesive regional approach is needed. The commission considers there are future challenges for all councils which are regional in scale and require a regional approach - for example the whole region needs investment in public transport and ageing infrastructure.

"Other challenges are demographic. There's an ageing and declining population in parts of the region ... there are also strong economic and cultural factors."

Mr MacKay said ageing infrastructure, such as pipes built after World War II, would soon need replacing in many areas, not just in Wellington.

Despite the evening's direction on no questions from the floor, the LGC members elected to respond to questions from the audience. In answer to the question of who would foot the estimated $210 million bill for the transition costs, Mr MacKay said it would ultimately be the ratepayer, although estimated savings of $30 million a year were expected to offset the cost.

"At the end of the day it's the ratepayer's money ... but after that payback period, if the assumptions of the modelling play out, then ratepayers do end up better off."

Toastmaster and meeting chairman Anders Crofoot encouraged those with unanswered questions to put in a submission.

The deadline for public submissions on the draft proposal is March 2.