Mayoral Column 6 December 2023

I hope this isn’t the last chance I have to provide an update for the community before the Christmas holiday period! There are many people and groups I would like to acknowledge as we come to the end of 2023, and so many positive things to look forward to. But after the meetings of the last couple of weeks, I want to use this column to be up front about the dilemmas facing your council.

Finances are tight. They are tight not just for households, but for council as well. No matter which way we look at our books for the coming years, our income just doesn’t even come close to meeting our costs.

A small consolation is that we are not alone. I have heard from councils from the North to the South and we are all struggling to keep the lights on and there is hardly a council in the country that is not staring down the barrel of “unprecedented” rates rises. Auckland Council is selling off the family silver and still can’t make ends meet. Councils are “mothballing” infrastructure at an alarming rate. Add to that the complexities of changes in central government priorities and focus, inflation and global forces beyond our control and it certainly feels like local government in New Zealand is facing a crisis.

That doesn’t make it easier for Ōpōtiki ratepayers. We have already used all the tools in our toolbox to keep rates down for so many years. We have deferred revaluations, delayed capital expenditure and renewals, and just doing the same job is costing more than it did last year.

Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be talking to our communities about our Long Term Plan, council services, and rates rises into the future. Hard decisions will need to be made and I encourage you to talk to councillors, provide feedback, go to meetings and events to help us all do this together. There are no easy answers, but many heads are better than just one or two.