Hamilton City Council cuts will affect services

After-hours responses to water emergencies would suffer under the latest proposals. Photo / Amos Chapple

Spending on roads, footpaths and water and waste services will be trimmed at tomorrow's Hamilton City Council meeting which aims to save millions of dollars.

The council began reviewing its entire business in September in an attempt to cut costs by $14.5 million over the next three years to stabilise Hamilton's skyrocketing debt and rates.

In the fifth meeting to determine the 2012-22 long term plan, councillors will take the axe to the city's $49 million transport budget along with waste and water services as they try to reduce spending by more than $800,000 and add $1.185 million to city coffers.

Up for consideration is a $385,000 reduction in the number of road areas being repaved over a three-year period, which would leave some streets "patchy" looking.

Also recommended is raising the threshold for using asphalt road surfacing from roads with more than 10,000 vehicles each day to those with 15,000 or more, saving $137,500. Asphalt costs about four times as much as chip seal but lasts longer.

To shed a further $180,000 councillors could reduce footpath repairs and put the onus on homeowners to maintain the part of their drive that crosses council-owned footpaths.

And if fees for traffic management plans were increased it would make the council a further $100,000.

Councillor Dave Macpherson, who was transport committee chairman for six years before a restructuring, said he was disappointed at missing tomorrow's meeting.

The finance and project monitoring committee chairman is five weeks into a six-week part Hamilton City Council-funded fellowship to Britain to research better transport options.

Mr Macpherson said he would "be on the warpath" when he returned from London over what he called the "curious" timing of the meeting.

"I feel angry that items, not just transport ones, were hacked into on staff recommendations without one word of prior discussion with those of us who have been working on them for so long," Mr Macpherson said.

"The process has not been good, has been top down and has been insulting and demeaning to a lot of us, not to mention frightening to affected members of the public unnecessarily in my opinion."

Mayor Julie Hardaker said the schedule for the meetings had been determined by staff and councillors knew about them well in advance.

Outside of transport, it is proposed to introduce fees for rubbish bags within three years, investigate the installation of water meters by 2019, halt septic tank cleaning services, and reduce after-hours responses to non-urgent stormwater, wastewater and water matters.

The decisions made at the meeting feed into the draft 10-year plan which goes out for public consultation in March.

PROPOSED

* $125,000 Reduce after-hours response for stormwater and wastewater

* $278,000 Stop CBD litter patrol, footpath and other cleaning

* $100,000 Stop maintaining vehicle crossings

* Consider axing waste minimisation officer role

ALREADY APPROVED

* LIM reports up between 64 and 100 per cent

* Dog registration fees up from $74 to $89 over three years

* Building consent fees up 20 per cent