Under-fire Waitaki council trims rates rise to 17%

The Waitaki district mayor has criticised a "toxic online environment" that is making it hard for elected members to do their jobs, as the council trims a deeply unpopular 22 percent rates rise.

Councillors agreed at a meeting on Tuesday to cut the rates increase to 17 percent, although many ratepayers have been asking for a much smaller, single-digit increase.

Mayor Mel Tavendale said rate-setting was difficult given residents' financial strain on one side and years of operating deficits, rising costs and water services requirements on the other.

She said councillors had been feeling the heat ahead of the meeting and some had been the target of personal attacks.

"There are people here around the table that care and are doing their job and they're doing their very best to balance community affordability with actually keeping this council running," she said.

"I'll tell you what, it is a rubbish space to hang out in at the moment and I deserve to walk home to my family and feel safe and stay in council."

Police were investigating death threats made to councillor Sven Thelning, who earlier said the council should aim for a 45 percent increase, strictly based on the financials.

Angry locals made abusive comments and threats against him in comments on a community Facebook page, which have since been removed, with the page's owner apologising.

In May, Waitaki councillors were considering three possible rates rises - 19 percent, 27 percent or 45 percent - to plug a projected $14 million operating deficit.

The council faced swift backlash after settling on 22 percent, and Tavendale later submitted a notice of motion to revoke that figure.

She said the council could use a $1 million dividend from Whitestone Contracting Ltd and take advantage of easing inflationary pressures, although the move was not without financial risk because it meant missing the 30 June statutory deadline for setting its rates.

All but two councillors - Frans Schlack and Sven Thelning - voted to reduce the proposed 22 percent rates increase to 17 percent by finding $2.5 million in alternative funding and cost cuts.

In a press release issued soon after, the council said Local Government Minister Simon Watts would be notified of the statutory deadline breach and council staff hoped to have a new plan for approval by 9 July.

Councillors flooded with feedback

Councillor Courtney Linwood said she had lost a lot of sleep over the decision, knowing elected members had a responsibility to current ratepayers and future generations.

She said she had been flooded with emails, messages and phone calls from people across the district who were concerned about the financial burden, but she was also aware of the long-term implications.

"This is not a vote that I cast enthusiastically and it's not a vote that sits comfortably with me," she said.

Schlack said he understood ratepayers' financial pressure but was concerned the situation in the Middle East was volatile and could drive the council's costs back up.

"I fully take on board that 22 percent is going to hurt people ... but the frank reality is we need to get back to these core services and we cannot continue like this to create deficit after deficit after deficit," he said.

Councillor Brent Cowles said he understood people's frustrations.

"We've been hearing it in town. I hear it at the pub. I've been hearing it in day-to-day conversations for months," he said.

He agreed with Tavendale that some of the comments were a step too far.

"Abuse, threats and intimidation are not acceptable in anyone's world. People are absolutely entitled to be angry, frustrated, disappointed and direct. They're entitled to challenge elected members and council strongly but threats or personal abuse cross the line," he said.

'Grave concerns' voiced

At the start of Tuesday's meeting, councillors heard from Keith Marshall, a former chief executive at four councils, who urged the council to opt for a 7 percent increase.

He said he had looked closely at the council's budget and could not fathom how it could justify a rise of 22 percent or one in the high teens.

"It causes me grave concern both professionally and as a ratepayer. I did not feel that I could stand by without commenting on the very real and unnecessary harm, as I see it, that you are about to cause," he said.

"There is no urgency of the kind you seem to believe. You have also given no formal nor data-driven consideration to the affordability of your decision or the harm that it could cause in the community. Your own community and other observers are astounded that you even think 22 percent is remotely affordable," Marshall said.

Tavendale said 7 percent was "absolutely unviable" because it would jeopardise the council's ability to borrow money, fail to address massive cost escalations and risk central-government intervention.

She also revealed the council was in "very shaky" discussions with its primary lender, the Local Government Funding Agency.

"The reality is they do not believe that we can fund our ongoing activity by any stretch at the 7 percent," she said.

"I just want to be really clear that we can't just stick our heads in the sand and say in the future we'll deal with this somehow because that's not leadership."

Waitaki Ratepayers and Residents Association chair Ray Henderson told the council he would settle for a 15 percent rise but no more than 19 percent.

He said he was concerned about "sloppy, lazy accounting" and a "culture of inefficiency" at the council contributing to the increase.

"Please do something about it. Stop wasting money," he said.

Chief executive Alex Parmley said the increase was not sloppy, rather the council was in an unsustainable financial position.

"The council is under pressure from sections of the community, the community is under pressure. It is a very difficult decision, balancing listening to your community and ensuring the good governance of the council's finances," he said.