Central Govt must come to the table

A LOCAL income tax, a poll tax, regional fuel taxes, a bit of locally-based GST ...

It all sounds pretty scary and would have ratepayers hoping to wake up quickly from the nightmare.

But these are all items on the table as local government tries to make ends meet.

A report from Local Government New Zealand raised these dreaded spectres this week as it tried to address the sometimes gaping gap between what local councils spend and the money they bring in through the rates.

Most councils are carrying significant debt and - as we know from Wanganui District Council's issues - wrestling with ever-mounting bills.

The problem is particularly acute in the rural provinces where population is declining and thus the burden of stumping up the cash falls on a dwindling band of ratepayers.

The LGNZ report has attracted some predictably scathing comment.

"Councils looking at new ways to hit ratepayers in the back pocket," was one assessment.
Another suggested local government spending was "out of control". But the reality is LGNZ has grasped a prickly nettle that needs uprooting. Local government funding is overdue for an overhaul.

And the aim of that overhaul may be different ways of raising money, maybe an increased emphasis on user pays, but it should not be about fleecing the poor ratepayer.

Central government policy imposes a lot of extra costs at a local level, and central government needs to be part of the solution.

It's strange how council spending is often dubbed "out of control" but you don't often hear that about our ministers.

So how about some of our income tax - which can often seem as exorbitant as the rates bill - being paid at a grass roots level?

If my total outlay was the same, I wouldn't mind paying less in tax and more in rates. At least I would have the satisfaction of knowing that my hard-earned was being used to help the development of my city.

Rather that than funding overseas trips for MPs whose contribution to the quality of life in New Zealand is questionable; rather that than funding a military presence in some far-off country.