Rotorua Lakes councillor Gregg Brown. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua Lakes councillor Gregg Brown. Photo / Andrew Warner
There is “no way on God’s green earth” Rotorua’s Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) will fail in the face of proposed council funding cuts, Gregg Brown says.
The trustee of not-for-profit community funder Rotorua Trust and Rotorua Lakes councillor made the comment at a public meeting Evolve Rotorua hosted on Tuesday night.
The meeting was about some of the proposed changes in the Rotorua Lakes Council draft Annual Plan, including a proposal to cut all community group funding after current agreements end in 2024.
Rotorua’s Citizens Advice Bureau received $40,000 a year, which paid for manager Jane Eynon-Richards’ part-time role and rent. The proposal had her worried about finding a replacement funder and fearing the service may have to close.
The bureau’s work was also funded by grants totalling $47,000 from Rotorua Trust, the Community Organisation Grants Scheme, Lottery Grant funding and a small contract with the Ministry of Immigration for settlement support advice.
Consultation on Rotorua Lakes Council's draft Annual Plan ends on May 12. Photo / Laura Smith
Brown was invited to the Evolve meeting as a councillor, with councillors Karen Barker, Robert Lee and Fisher Wang also attending.
He made his comment supporting the bureau at the meeting after Eynon-Richards spoke about the impact of the proposal.
Brown made it clear he was conveying personal views.
Brown said there was “no way on God’s green earth” the bureau would fail.
The bureau was at the “top of our [the trust’s] priority list”, he said.
“There will be funding, Jane.”
Speaking to Local Democracy Reporting on Wednesday, Eynon-Richards said it was gratifying to hear Brown’s support.
Her concerns over the funding still remained, however, as she did not believe Brown could commit the funding himself on behalf of the trust.
“That’s not how funders work.”
Rotorua Citizens Advice Bureau manager Jane Eynon-Richards. Photo / Laura Smith
Brown told Local Democracy Reporting his point was that the bureau was an “essential service” and one of the highest priorities in the community. He said he spoke at the meeting as someone who works in the philanthropic sector.
He said he was a BayTrust trustee for eight years and, “I know how funding works, I know that CAB ranks highest as a priority.”
With that experience, he believed the bureau would find funding from somewhere if the council proposal went ahead.
He also said it was a risk to assume the council, either the current or future, would guarantee endless funding.
Rotorua Trust chairman Stewart Edward said Brown was correct that as a trust it looked to support those organisations in the community that played an important role and made an impact.
“Our annual grants budget has been set for the coming financial year and we look forward to continuing our role of funder as we support a wide range of organisations across the Rotorua community, through our granting processes.
“We encourage all organisations to provide feedback and to engage with Rotorua Lakes Council’s proposed plan.”
The draft Annual Plan document described the proposal stopping funding to community groups and working with community groups to secure required funding from other more suitable sources, as a means to “reduce our rates requirement”.
It said this would save the council $275,000 in 2023/24 and, depending on future decisions, $435,000 from 2024/25 onwards.
A council spokesperson earlier told the Rotorua Daily Post the Citizens Advice Bureau proposal was one of a number supported by elected members and outlined in the consultation document.
“The draft Annual Plan is currently out for public consultation and it would be inappropriate for [the] council to comment on any of the proposals at this point in time.”
Consultation on the draft Annual Plan ends on May 12 and details can be found on the council website.
Councillors will consider submissions before a decision on what is proposed is made.
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Amendment
A reference to Rotorua Trust funding of the Sir Howard Morrison Centre refurbishment has been removed from this story.
