By ANNE BESTON
Franklin District Council will look at breaking away from the regional councils on its borders to go it alone.
The small district council, with a population of 50,000, lies between two of New Zealand's biggest regional councils, Auckland and Waikato.
Mayor Heather Maloney said it was not hard for Franklin to feel squeezed.
"The ARC is a very dominant force, and we are not sure that's the best option for our ratepayers. It will be very expensive and very messy, but if the ARC are just going to keep putting the rate up, we will look at getting out."
This year Franklin ratepayers will be levied $1.5 million by the Auckland Regional Council, a rise of 6.81 per cent. Environment Waikato's levy is $800,000. Franklin's general rates take is $15.6 million.
Mrs Maloney is unhappy that the ARC does not have to justify an increase to ratepayers.
"Frankly I am sick of it, they don't want to be accountable at all.
"They don't hold any public meetings out there where the ratepayers are."
Franklin will consider becoming a unitary authority under the Local Government Act, a complex legal process that requires polling of ratepayers in all three areas - Franklin, Auckland and Waikato.
If successful, it would become a district council which also does the work of a regional council. Tasman, Marlborough and Nelson have all become unitary authorities in the past 10 years under the 1974 Local Government Act. The process is overseen by the Local Government Commission, which must give its approval for it to go ahead.
Franklin's other options are to defect to Waikato or throw in its lot with Auckland - the last being the least likely.
ARC chairman Phil Warren said his council would not block a move by Franklin to go.
"We would place no impediment in their way in whatever they wish to do."
The ensuing loss in revenue would be offset by the ARC's withdrawing the services it supplied to Franklin now, he said.
"We would have to cut our cloth accordingly, but we wouldn't have the same expenses. We wouldn't have the problem of possums in the Hunuas."
Franklin sees itself as a rural area and wants no part of being a suburb of Auckland. But a report for the council in 1990 on the implications of breaking away from the ARC was not favourable, and the issue was shelved.
Mrs Maloney now wants it looked at as soon as the council's annual plan process is complete.
She said Auckland was preoccupied with its own growth and transport issues, which did not necessarily reflect Franklin's interests.
Franklin to revisit standalone option
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.