Masterton council targets red tape

A council committee has endorsed a Strategic Planning report supporting a government initiative to strip away unnecessary rules from how councils work.

Red tape could start unravelling throughout the Masterton district if the council's wishes come to pass.

On Wednesday the Policy and Finance Committee endorsed a report prepared by Strategic Planning manager Tania Madden supporting a government initiative to strip away unnecessary rules from how councils work.

The report and a covering letter will be sent to the Department of Internal Affairs pointing out economic development and growth are top priorities for the council and " unnecessary rules and regulations" are barriers that add layers of bureaucracy and extra costs.

Rules should be rationalised when there is little public value having them.

Masterton District Council has started its own internal review process aimed at improving the way it regulates, and its level of service, by minimising rules and streamlining its processes.

It supports Local Government New Zealand's stand on temporary liquor licensing fees, which at $750, was too high for many people and small, organised events.

The council would like to have discretion so it could make decisions on appropriate fees taking into consideration such things as the nature of events and the customers concerned.

Staying with liquor licensing laws the council believes the whole process should be reviewed as it is an "overly time-consuming" process with all alcohol licensing decisions, even uncontested applications, having to be granted by a District Licensing Committee.

This means extra costs and is time-consuming.

Straight forward licensing decisions should be handled by staff delegated to deal with them.

On the health front councillors believe less frequent inspections of hairdressing salons can be justified because of their low-level health risk.

There would still be a need to have them registered, but perhaps three-yearly inspections would be all that was needed.

The council recognised beauty therapy, tattooing and piercing were higher risks and, as a result, has already created a joint by-law with South Wairarapa District Council to regulate those activities.

As far as dealing with derelict buildings is concerned, the council wants to see the scope of its powers extended to be able to deal with properties where hoarders have become a health risk either to themselves, people visiting their property or to those living nearby.

A real thorn in the council's side is the Reserves Act 1977 which has hindered council's efforts to dispose of reserve land.

Revocation of reserves under the act is so tied up in red tape, the council in the past has kept several reserves of negligible recreational value simply because trying to dispose of them was "too hard."

Council chief executive Pim Borren said often it was case of rules having been written for a very good reason but with time things change and the need is no longer there but the rule remains.

"And it is very hard to get rid of it."