On June 19, the Whanganui District Council adopted its annual plan ... and councillors took a deep breath and gave a sigh of relief that it was over for another year.
It is also a chance for councillors to slap themselves on the back and, for a few of them, to make their own state-of-the-nation speeches for Whanganui.
Most people reading this article would have little appreciation about how much work goes into an annual plan for councillors and council staff.
It is a huge undertaking with mountains of information processed and dozens of meetings. There were days and days of gruelling public submission meetings, which ranged from the weird and wacky to plain common sense -- and common sense won over, with issues like the special levy council was planning to impose on those not connected to the wastewater system being quashed.
Chief executive Kym Fell and his team were congratulated by councillors for managing to secure $1.6 million in operational savings. That is to be highly commended given he has only been in the job for about 18 months. He has made prudent changes that have streamlined operations, and I get the feeling there is now a team spirit among council staff.
The staff do not have an easy job and are often unfairly labelled powermongers and bureaucratic delinquents.
I've just been through a difficult resource consent for a family member that I managed to get accepted after others had failed, continually blaming council staff for the problem. The fact is that these people were simply not doing what council staff required to tick all the boxes.
Yes, it is frustrating for those uninitiated in this area. However, we must remember that council staff have rules and guidelines they must adhere to and, although these may seem totally unnecessary to the public, they are there for very good reasons -- to protect each and every one of us, most often from ourselves.
Hard yards: Whanganui councillors wrestle with mountains of information at the annual plan deliberations.
As expected, one or two councillors displayed a little hubris that they, or their block of councillors, were responsible for a rate increase of less than 2 per cent, but to my mind this was a team effort by all councillors, staff and management.
The vote to adopt the annual plan was almost unanimous, with only councillor Alan Taylor making a protest vote against ... probably because he likes to be a little bit different, which can be confirmed by the rather flamboyant shirt he wore at a recent council meeting (It would have looked out of place even in the 1970s).
Rob Vinsen rode his latest hobby horse around the council table, reminding his colleagues they had stalled again about doing something to stop the flooding at properties in Wikitoria Rd. Unfortunately, not a mention for the residents -- mostly lower income and elderly -- in flood-prone Anzac Parade and Putiki.
Councillor David Bennett talked about a zero per cent rates increase next year, but perhaps he was simply trying to distance himself and his "bad-boy" team (councillor Kate Joblin's words, not mine) as rates increases next year are expected to be much higher, when the new wastewater treatment plant costs bite harder.
Here's hoping they might take heed of my recent suggestion and sell off the many under-used properties owned by the community, therefore reducing debt and costs.
I have to say I would give this council nine out of 10 for effort, and would go as far as to say this is one of the best councils we have had for a long time.
I still have reservations about the progress of its economic development arm, but this council is doing what it needs to do. Momentum is being generated by the hard-working, industrious people of Whanganui, and I do believe our future is looking rather positive.
A few more bribes (oops ... I mean incentives) from central government will also help propel our local economy.
Steve Baron is a Wanganui-based political commentator, author and founder of Better Democracy NZ. He holds degrees in economics and political science.
