In 2003, when the council took on road safety, it got a subsidy of 73 per cent of the cost of running the programmes. Last year, the subsidy was 66 per cent, with the New Zealand Transport Agency proposing to drop it to 53 per cent and progressively down.
Councillors felt the work of staff was unappreciated by the transport agency and considered quitting the road safety function when the agency said it was cutting the subsidy. The council believed it had no legal requirement to provide the service, and wrote to the agency in February.
In reply, the agency said Horizons was doing a model job on road safety, and it didn't want it to quit. It offered to increase the subsidy back to 71 per cent.
Horizons chairman Bruce Gordon said that was "a bit brave" and, in fact, the agency brought it back to 65 per cent.
The agency also implied that the regional transport committee - made up of one person from each council in the Horizons region and two from Horizons itself - had to take responsibility for road safety.
Providing road safety education costs Horizons $171,000 a year - that's $1.35 a year for people with property with a capital value of $300,000, or $4.50 a year for someone with a $1 million property.
Mr Gordon said he feared a rural/urban split in submitter opinion. Rural people might perceive they got no value out of the spending, though he said staff provided safety input at rallies on rural roads, and did mobility scooter training in rural towns such as Marton.
Who would do this work if Horizons did not? Transport manager Phil Hindrup said district or city councils could provide it, on contract, as was done in Taranaki.
-Horizons' long-term plan is out for consultation, and submissions can be made by letter, email or online by May 4. The plan is due for adoption in late June.
