The Local Body Rates Heist thread

**nztx** · 02-05-2024, 03:45 PM

Palmerston North CC eyes their local captive Ratepayers for a further series of Rates ATM Raids

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/palmer...M3WQV643T3A6Q/

Palmerston North ratepayers could face $1000 annual bill for new sewage treatment system

Every ratepayer in Palmerston North could face an annual bill of at least $1000 for 30 years to fund a new sewage treatment system.

It is a situation that could be repeated across New Zealand as councils are warned there are no more free lunches when it comes to water.

A nice 30 year heist of the ratepayer's hard earned - isn't it ?

**Daytr** · 03-05-2024, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by nztx

Palmerston North CC eyes their local captive Ratepayers for a further series of Rates ATM Raids

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/palmer...M3WQV643T3A6Q/

Palmerston North ratepayers could face $1000 annual bill for new sewage treatment system

A nice 30 year heist of the ratepayer's hard earned - isn't it ?

Yep it's the same here. New sewerage plant and the addional cost to be connected is around $1K plus there was an initial joining fee.

But how else will this be paid for?
I recommend that there be a radial pattern out from the town center so those not connected but using the town as their service center paid something. I worked out that if those not connected in the area contributed $100 per year, it would halve the amount paid by those connected.

The Mayor at the time said it was a great idea but of course nothing came of it.

**nztx** · 15-05-2024, 05:56 PM

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/...rates-increase

Hastings homeowners may face 25% rates increase

Hastings homeowners may be hit with a 25 percent rates rise as the city grapples with how to pay for the huge amount of cyclone recovery work still ahead.

Hastings District Council will on Thursday consider the rates hike as part of its draft long-term plan.

The draft plan is proposing 8 percent of the increase is targeted to cyclone recovery and 17 percent to core services, such as maintaining existing roading and invest in infrastructure.

"It is very much an infrastructure-based budget," mayor Sandra Hazlehurst told Morning Report.

"What we've spent in the last year is close to $155 million just in the response and road repairs.

"In addition to that we had the category three voluntary buyout, which is $50 million, and on top of that, we need around $170 million to continue with our transport rebuild."

Hazlehurst said the council was hoping for more funding from the government to help the recovery.

The way this Council Empire is portraying things - many might wonder if they are trying to say that EVERY Road & Bridge got washed out or damaged in the Cyclone.

Definitely not the case however - it's been okay for this Council to apply increase after increase each year to Rates pillaging Ratepayer's pockets repeatedly, then come screaming when a lot of their infrastructure suddenly failed out of one event. To have so many failures begs the question - if the infrastructure was old, nearing end of it's life or so badly maintained to all fail at once, then what was being done in previous years to 'bridge the gap' and provide for what they should have been well aware needed doing ?

Of course many of the repairs & replacements will be substantially funded by Government Grants, but still we see references to - for example 37% increases for bridge replacements.

Local businesses are screaming for the work & some laying off staff that produce product for these sort of large projects right now.

Not a good showing for HDC

Let's face it HDC is only up for a small % of cost after grants for many of these large projects,

Clearly it would appear that the Council may or may not have been asleep at the wheel for what is being seen and trying to heap 25% rates increases on captive Ratepayers being treated as ATM's in harder times in a district that has suffered greatly in parts huge economic damage.

Not really good enough - from the Hastings Council to suddenly wake up to aftermath of a disaster and try to offload huge increases on ratepayers to get the Council out the hole that it has most likely dug for itself

How much 3 Waters Loot got sucked up by HDC under that failed Labour Govt initiative ?

Where did it go - or was it frittered away on wasteful insignificant projects like there was no tomorrow ?

Knowing of the areas affected & an idea of infrastructure affected out of a 1 in 50 or 100 year event, it would appear that Hastings was not in many localities impacted at all badly, and fared reasonably well.

And yet this sees necessity from HDC Local Body Empire inspiring hungry 25% Hikes in recessionary times.

I would sincerely hate to see what a more intensive damaging event would in turn see from HDC.
The cost recoveries based on current rate & cost increases proposed - if there was a larger event with large scale damage would likely suffocate and near on bankrupt all the district completely based on HDC's increases formulae and propensity to try to recover all in just a 2-3 year period

It's time that the cosy cluster of Local Body fifedoms up & down the country were all put under microscope and subject to more intensive regulation, so they are performing and delivering for their stakeholders efficiently & effectively - that is ratepayers; and future projects or replacements see more care & precision planning to ensure that regions don't have large scale failures, then see the cost dumped in huge wads on ratepayers under any old sort of excuse.

Not unreasonable is it ?

The Mayor (having been in Accounting firm employ some years back and with involvement with business) would or should be well aware that dropping the cost of this sort of shambles in one huge hit on the captive Ratepayer being treated as the Council's ATM's for the stripping, is a very poor showing & far from good enough

**nztx** · 16-05-2024, 03:02 PM

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/hamilt...BFMKQ62EFGAHU/

Hamilton Māori Ward councillor Melaina Huaki quit after questions about regular absences

Hamilton Folks - look at what your Rate Hikes are paying for

How many thousands for talent pieces to be on semi-holiday ...

Must be lots more of this sort of rort going on up and down the country

**nztx** · 26-05-2024, 04:49 PM

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-ba...HYUJRVUXFUG6A/

Hawke’s Bay rates hikes: Havelock North property could pay $700 annually for public transport

Change in Rating base from Land value to Capital Value by HB Regional Council

159% Increase in one captive ratepayers HNRC Rates as a result - and $700 transport levy ???

Absolutely extortionate & Ridiculous - HB Regional Council !

And done at a time when COL, Interest rates, and all other costs are generally rising in recessionary times.

About as smart as another Hawkes Bay Council looking to try to syphon off 25% increases for broken infrastructure it mostly didn't bother opening too many eyes to until hit with a 50 or 100 year King shot, then tries recover a large pile in how few years ?

Remember those old bridges largely ignored and costing 37% more over last year's or month's costs would generally be fairly largely subsidised by Central Govt .. well wouldn't they ?

So much for the just having to wave the CYCLONE flag to try to fix all ills in one foul swoop

What a bunch of Clueless Councils we have in the Hawkes Bay

Have the finance brains @ HB Regional Council remained waterlogged & started rotting ?

Did any of of the HBRC blockheads in the back office consider likely affects on higher capitalised properties
and the associated likely rort for things they did not, and would not use ?

Same idiots who were involved in the vast & extensive Ruataniwha Dam C*ck -up or not ?

Merger of the Hawke's Bay Councils some years ago appear to have been the correct move
except the correct merger proposal was never considered or presented

That would have been HB Regional Council de-established and done away with and each of the
other councils picking up what HBRC was doing in their own Council territory,.

And of course with it - HBRC's Port of Napier shareholding vested in a Community Trust in the same
way as Unision is owned by & for benefit of beneficiaries HB Power Consumer Trust

Port of Napier would probably operate more efficiently and see itself as having been granted a new life without the burden of HBRC leg irons and chains draped it's neck

Far too much Council ROT, wastage of Resources and Cluelessness over the years appear on the HBRC past track record.

How many millions were wasted across a decade or more by HBRC on the "Done Deal" Ruataniwha Dam project ?

Who ultimately paid for all that ?

They likely thought after it got canned & their rates got hiked that was probably more like a fairly "Dumb Deal" and they can be forgiven for thinking that to, after those responsible for pushing the grand scheme got pushed themselves

For those with longer memories - in around 2002 this was a Council which levied no Regional Council rates due to a Port of Napier windfall it received and has since displayed many if not all of the bad financial habits other Councils now display, the least of which is regarding it's captive ratepayers as a Council ATM to be raided once a year

It appears time that getting rid of the extra layer of expensive, unnecessary & mindless greedy Local Body Bureaucracy that HBRC appears to now represent is once again in need of consideration by Central Government, as part of a wider in depth investigation of the affairs & conduct of all NZ Local Bodies

What would a referendum now likely produce post- Cyclone and after the Local HB Councils have played their little ring a rosies around vastly hiked rates and oncosts based on Cyclone excuses, with one at the centre of the Cyclone front also playing Capital Value games after all that's happened ?

Let's put it in the CAPITAL VALUES that HB Regional Council HBRC so dearly loves now:

BE GONE WITH YOU - HBRC .. The Hawke's Bay does not need the extra Layer of Bureaucratic Local Body Bunkum, selective madness / blindness and wasteful excesses that you represent

**nztx** · 26-05-2024, 05:42 PM

Wonder who will get lumbered & wear the after effects of these Council Wheelies & Blow-outs -

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3502...weak-oversight

Blowouts ‘blindside’ Queenstown council due to weak oversight

The Queenstown council has been “blindsided” by major cost over-runs on infrastructure projects worth $500 million due to weak oversight, a new report has found.

Queenstown Lakes District Council requested the report on the Whakatipu Transport Programme Alliance - a group convened to run the town’s largest infrastructure projects in decades.

The work included the $60m Queenstown street upgrades, the $128m arterial project building a road to bypass central Queenstown, $70m spent on the Lakeview development, and a $250m road upgrade project.

The bulk of the funding was supplied by central government but the council has been liable for millions in cost over-runs.

Things must be pretty crazy for Queenstown District Council to get blindsided

They didn't see it coming, or were all peacefully asleep (on the same page) or too busy playing tiddlywinks ?

Have they been doing this for long, or was everyone in the Special Projects section on extended Long Holiday leave for the full term of these projects ?

Wonder how the Captive Queenstown Ratepayer ATM's are feeling at the moment ?

Flush, Flushed or shortly about to be very badly flushed and rorted by Blind & Stupid long hairy arm of QLDC Rates Collection department on an urgent mission to fill a large hole ?

**nztx** · 10-06-2024, 12:57 PM