Council comments 'arrogant'

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 8, Issue 375, 26 February 1991, Page 4

Council comments 'arrogant'

• Comments reported to have been made by Councillor Cosford and others at the last Ruapehu District Council is a display of arrogance and does nothing towards the uniting of a Ruapehu District Council region. For Councillor Cosford to say that the Waimarino County Council had kept rates artificially low and was now suffering the consequences and that the W.C.C. had missed out on subsided work it could have done under the old N.R.B. is truly a manifestation of ignorance. To be faithful to many former dedicated councillors and staff, I cannot let such comments which suggest a lack of competence in the duty they performed, pass without comment. Foremost in the minds of most of those past councillors was the now forgotten fact that they were trustees for ratepayers money and as such they directed their time and ability to utilise rates and subsidies, not in the building of empires under bureaucratic administration, but back to basic services to the people. The effectiveness of this previous policy and system is now being expressed through the formation and operation of the Waimarino Ratepayers Association who have a desire to have more effective and efficient Local Government. There was no such association formed during the time of the Waimarino County Council Mr Cosford. The former Waimarino C.C. for its size and location was unique in that it was debt free. This was a desirous position to be in because it enabled the utilization of rates collected to be used to gain subsidy and not go out in interest payments. Because of this and through careful planning rates could be kept moderately low (not artificially low as

suggested by Mr Cosford) while still being able to feature high in priority allocations to. the No.8 D.R.C. annual grants from N.R.B. (Did Mr Cosford know that D.R.C. allocated most of the funds from N.R.B.?) Space does not provide for a detailed listing of successful operation sufficient to note that every bridge in the County has been renewed, charge-out rate on plant did not prohibit work being done and generally the County was moving forward. The presentation of submissions and proposals by the W.C.C. to N.R.B. won favourable comment from the D.R.C. and the N.R.B. and were presented on more than one occasion to the Minister of Roading as an example of efficiency in roading submissions and reports. Can Mr Cosford claim such merit for his former council? Let me assure the Councillors of the R.D.C. that there is no justification to increase rates 'because Waimarino had artificially low rates". It wasi a Council that gave' consideration to the economic climate, rated accordingly, met its requirements, did the work, satisfied the ratepayers and had funds in Reserve Accounts to be swallowed up in a contingency like amalgamation. Councillor Joe Murphy is disappointed he wasn't helped by differential rating. Did he expect to gain at someone else's expense? Be fair. Please councillors, don't blame valuations altogether as being the cause of excessive rate increases but look at the requirement to operate the system. As administrators setting policy lets see a change that

will fulfil the Commissions ideology of amalgamation to provide a more effective and efficient system. In my mind, Local Govt. no

longer exists. I pass on to Councillors some good advice once given to me - 'Strive for your goals, that's your job, but do so by wise counsel and constructive debate not by belittling or defrauding others.'

B.G.

Berry