Rates Angst

Following Gabrielle one of the many issues Councils had to confront was that of rates and where to go with impacted ratepayers.

For those most devastated areas the answer was simple. With such upheaval  and disruption of lives , councils could understand (or some could) that the remission of rates was the best decision.

It was an option under the Local Government Act .

The Hastings District Council chose the remission option and that was  applied to all affected ratepayers for two years.

Pretty clearcut and just decision .Sensible to see all ratepayers treated the same.

But not the Regional Council.

Councillors passed the buck. Maybe they did not understand the ramifications of  what may eventuate .

Under the Act they must have been informed Section 102 allowed them to adopt a rates remission policy.

Sounds fair enough.

Under Section 109 they could have conditions and criteria to be met in order for rates to be remitted.

Problem.

Conditions and criteria.

Who decides?

Well not the Councillors .They have washed their hands of the problem.

Staff? Yes. The staff have been given the task to formulate conditions and criteria so that staff can make a decision that will or could have a major impact on peoples lives.

This becomes a nightmare.

The Regional Council was wrong going down this path and  I wonder what advice they received before making the decision.

 After a major disaster , how does one decide on conditions and criteria to determine rates remission or not?

This policy required ratepayers to apply for rates remission ( no doubt hoping some would not) and to provide some information on ratepayers situations  to help with the decision.

I am sure this has been a major  intrusion in to peoples lives. Where do you draw the line?

At a time when people are at their most vulnerable an authority delves in to personal and private lives of ratepayers  that frankly should be  out of bounds. This is a serious but extraordinary situation .

I know that staff will treat people with respect but it's the fact they have been tasked with this exercise at all that is the problem.

  

Economic Connection

In my last post I mentioned the disparity between the non producers and the producers.

It is impossible for 'the people ' to conjure up resources to undertake a meaningful study of a given situation , especially when the situation has disadvantaged those people.

Maybe there will be help from interested parties pro bono but not often.

Two years on from Gabrielle and we have  a host of productive folk trying to get back on their feet which is difficult in itself and there are bodies using ratepayers money to produce consultants reports that will confirm the authorities direction. 

Kapiti and Waikanae ratepayers have been lucky enough to get an expert report on beach erosion and sea level non rise .They have been able to rally the troops around this report and challenge the Council and its moves on managed retreat.

In Hawkes Bay we have three areas that provide substantial income to the region and are now regrouping .

I would love to see an independent  report commissioned by the 'people' that would look at the  benefit to Hawkes Bay of these regions and just how important they are to the overall health of the Hawkes Bay and NZ economy.

This is because following a disaster such as Gabrielle it is important to get some perspective on the disaster and guage the impact on the region.

To date the reaction has been helpful but lacking purpose. The reaction has been to help  those in authority without a balancing weight.

    

          

Hot Air

Apples and Productivity or Churn

There is much talk about productivity among our political leaders.

What do they mean?

The Government has recently announced funding for the Reserve Bank for the next 5 years will be 750 million dollars. Spun as a cut from the requested 1 billion but still a lift that is reflected in other Government spheres of fiscal responsibility.

The Reserve Bank is typical of  Public Service elites whos numbers  have grown like spears of asparagus on a warm spring day .We the people are waiting for someone to arrive with a sharp knife to cut them off at the base figure. Curtail their urge to extend  in to the next office block.

More and more public servants move toward the  trough that is continually being filled by the gumbooted taxpayers slogging to eek out a living while paying the bills and being fleeced of tax to fill the trough.

These gumbooted taxpayers are the ones who are perky people who possess hopes and aspirations , dreams and desires. They battle away with a smile on their faces , actually producing something tangible for the country.  

Something that can be seen , felt and admired , put in a container and shipped off to return dollars to our once wonderful country.

May be I am unfair picking on the Reserve Bank but it is representative of what has been quietly happening with no constraint .Staffing levels have increased from 255 full time equivalents in 2017/18 to 660 by January 2025!

Treasury makes the quaint observation that they 'appear to be overstaffed'!

Well, now to the point.

This same expansion of , what to me is the unproductive sector , is reflected in Local Government.

There are a host of reasons this has occurred but it has.

The Regional Council now has over 500 on its staff.

To make the economic connection with these outrageous numbers and the flood,  we see a whole community, a number of communities , that  were  productive and by that I mean highly productive , that have been systematically dismantled and dismembered in a sense but in a strange twist  valued for their productive capabilities.

Esk Valley, Sacred Hill and Sophora Village have been salvaged but the pain and the stress endure. 

Two years down the track and the scene has changed dramatically .Many have been able to resurrect  their productive capability but at a cost. Sure those who had good insurance coverage may now be in a strong position but many have gone.

For those who are struggling on, two years has been a time lost. A hole that is hard to fill.

So. As they say today, the authorities want to keep making life difficult for those who have been disadvantaged. 

There is no flexibility with rates as the valuations in place prior to the flood are still being used and QV and Councils will not review this situation.

EQC will not cover earthquake and fire when these have nothing to do with flooding!

There is huge expenditure being proposed that is unnecessary .Works on flood control that is because of modelling  and kneejerk reactions , not logic and reason.

The productive communities I have mentioned really need recognition for their huge part in the Hawkes Bay economy and the likes of the Regional Council , sitting on $500 million, ironically half of which they  received as a result of a natural disaster, could well make a grant to people who have endured this event and help  patch the hole that the last two years has presented us with.

The productive areas of Sacred Hill, Esk Valley and Sophora Village  are far more important to Hawkes Bay than an expanding public service and ratcheting rates .

 

  

 Managed Retreat

Be afraid.

I watched a recent documentary on Managed Retreat which is one of those terms that hides a mountain of trouble.

Beavering away in the background are an army of bureaucrats working on ways to put the skids under the average bloke and blokess.

At the centre of this kind attempt to help us people out of our homes and livelihoods is , of course climate change.

Whatever we do these days is tainted by this octopus that investigates every move we dare to make and delivers an all enveloping answer .Climate change.

Historically Kiwis have found haven , hope and happiness near the coast with it's many attractions  downright beauty and  provider of peace and tranquility.

Kiwis have experienced erosion and accretion of the coastline over many years and adapted or  responded   to challenges in a practical way.

Because we have suffered from a number of recent weather events it is now considered dangerous to live and respond to nature . Councils and Government have moved to undermine commonsense responses and now have a blueprint to save our lives by legislating kiwis out of  danger and in to the clutches of city surrounds.

There .You naughty people cannot live near the sea because the sea is going to rise and swallow you up or the rivers are going to overflow and drown you.

Well the legislation that is being concocted to save us from the weather is far reaching and a disgrace.

It is being built on the likes of modelling in  response to supposed climate change and scenarios so far presented are making totally unrealistic assumptions.

The problem is , this legislative approach is going to cost the people mega dollars for nothing.

What is at foot is a crime.