Board member hot on rates

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 542, 28 June 1994, Page 5

Board member hot on rates

By

Michele

Monaghan

Waiouru Community Board member Kerry Harding is hot on the Ruapehu District Council. The board sought clarification on several matters including water and road rates, toilet cleaning charges and maintenance fees for parks and reserves at their meeting last week and the Bulletin talked to board member Kerry Harding after the meeting to follow up on her concerns published in last week's issue. Questions were answered in a round-about way, if answered at all, said Mrs Harding. "I was not impressed with some of the answers," she said. At the meeting Mrs Harding' s suspicions were confirmed when the board was told that out of the $58,000 allocated for the Waiouru roading rate, $23,000 would be spent in the Waimarino ward. "What happened to user pays?" asked Mrs Harding. The board was told that the $403 per week for the cleaning of Waiouru' s public convenience was calculated on maintaining the proposed new toilet block. Cleaning costs high The board put it to the council representative that this was still excessively high considering the toilets are used by the general travelling public and not Waiouru residents. The board submitted that the

council should look at way s of recovering the cost of cleaning and maintaining the facility from the travelling public and not the Waiouru rate payer. Mrs Harding said .she accepted the council's explanation about the rise in water rates. Apparently domestic consumption was up while commercial was

down so the rates are being adjusted accordingly. Mrs Harding said she was disappointed that only two members of the public bothered to turn up to the meeting. "The public has a right to know that they are basically being ripped off," she said. Mrs Harding said she

was very vocal at the meeting, but feels strongly about her position on the board representing the rate payer. "What do the council supply? 1*11 tell you what they don't supply... they don't supply swimming pools, libraries, cemeteries, pensioner housing, community housing, rental housing, district agencies, fire

protection, sports grounds, parks, community halls, refuse collection or a refuse tip." "It's a pity we don't pay our rates to the Army," she said. Mrs Harding said that the council do supply a public toilet, lighting and road maintenance. The council Turn to Page 6

Waiouru hot on rates

FR0MPAGE5 also pays the army for public use of their sewerage and water facilities. The army supplies most facilities normally supplied by a council. "We don't even get a quarter of what other towns get from the council, but we're paying one of the highest rates." Mrs Harding said she accepted that communities with a small population tended to pay higher rates, "but we' re unique" she said. Mrs Harding has been busy calculating average figures out of the Chief Executive' s commentary on the draft annual plan for 1994/95. "They don't make sense," she said. "If you take the $36,000 received from the UAG and divide it by $280 you get 129. 1 am

sure there aren't 129 rate payers in the Waiouru ward." Mrs Harding said her estimate would be there are 90 ratepayers in the ward at the most. "There are 44 houses, give or take a few, and about 1 4 businesses, you can' t tell me there are that many farms in the area to make up 129," she said. Army conlribution Mrs Harding is unsure of the army's contribution to council revenue and said she felt sure this wasn't included in the figures. Mrs Harding said she has been told that the revenue from Waiouru rates totalled $149,1 15. If you divide the supposed number of ratepayers (129) into that figure you get $1156 being paid by the average rate payer.

The Waimarino ward average is. $802, Taumarunui 's is $589 and National Park works out to $843. Actual rates paid are Waiouru 0.013 149 cents in the dollar of land value, Ohura 0.008807, Taumarunui 0.009602, National Park 0.009683 and Waimarino 0.01 1368. The Ruapehu District Council has yet to meet to discuss the submissions made by the district' s boards. "I hope the council, when considering the submissions, see the unfairness of the rating system," said Mrs Harding. Mrs Harding said that when the Waiouru ward changed from the Rangitikei District Council to the Ruapehu District Council her rates doubled.