Covid-19 Response

20200510

A list of things we need to get busy with from our committee member Jane Johnston in the Far North District

Ratepayers Associations need to start making submissions to their Councils' (both Regional and Territorial, whether District or City Councils – or Unitary Councils) for an urgent review of your council's Annual Plan, to establish significant savings, by deferring all non-essential projects, by seeking to vary contracts with all tenders given reduced work-loads (in maintaining roads, removing rubbish, emptying public litter bins, cessation of kerbside recycling collections, reduced use and thus need for maintenance of parks and sports, recreational, library and other facilities), and seriously look at cutting the cloth (redundancies and cancelling contractors) in light of a serious downturn of economic activity as a most predictable result of the current level 4 Covid-19 lockdown.

The next financial year (1^st July 2020 to 30^th June 2021) is not a Long Term Plan year, in the sense that all councils are operating within the scope of LTP 2018 to 2028, in terms of what they said they would be doing next year.

Some (but not all) will have notified a proposed Annual Plan in line with what they signaled for the next Financial Year, and might (or might not have) called for Submissions on that Annual Plan.

Most are fully intending to persist with intended Rates increases, in line with their adopted Long Term Plan.

The Taxpayers Union is circulating a petition calling for a Rates Freeze .

Some councils have ballooned in size in recent years, under upsurge in economic activity across provincial New Zealand (since 2014, as recovery from Global Financial Crisis of 2008 started to be seen in areas that had been suffering on-going recessionary environment).

For example the Far North District Council went from $16m annual staff wages and salaries budget (2013) to $26m annual staff wages and salary (2018). Corporate overheads increased by 60% in the first 3 years of that growth, reflecting provisioning this explosion in staffing.

That budget is now a LIABILITY, on districts now facing prospects of deeper and even longer lasting recession (again).

That this could happen is a risk known to ALL local authorities, and we now need to see them step up and respond to the reality of that risk being realised – and to immediately act to limit damage. They can not bury heads in the sand and act like the status quo will continue unaffected.

We also need our Councils to NOT take on additional work they are not competent or capable of, in the guise of some sort of economic stimulus package – they need to leave that to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, to Central Government, to Regional Economic Development Agencies, and to the Council Controlled Organisations and only remove barriers, facilitate via improved productivity and efficiency in performing their own core functions.

Lobby against increases in fees and charges, there has never been a greater need for transparency, for equitable access to services provided by councils – and for accountability.

We are all being told that staff are working from home.

What are they working on – when there is so little customer interaction required, and not much being delivered in the real world ?

Why aren’t voluntary redundancies being called ?

Why aren’t people being asked to take leave, or to accept reduced salaries – as in other sectors ?

And, if other Councils are anything like the Far North District Council – in first meeting after being sworn in – the new Councillors increased their remuneration considerably (Chairs of Committees – up from $65K to $85K per annum)… this reflects the increase in the CEO’s remuneration to keep pace with the ballooning size of the organisation.

Consultants costs also exponential growth over same period.