A once-in-a-generation change to local government but don't expect rates relief
It is described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change a broken system but a massive proposed overhaul to the working of local government is not likely to deliver rates relief to households. A government report into the future of local government has made 17 key recommendations that amount to a massive overhaul of how councils around New Zealand act, how they interact with central government, and the people they serve. They include a reorganisation of local government, a new crown department to facilitate better cooperation between central and local government, a four-year term, lowering the voting age to 16, and the government putting more funding towards local government. Local Government NZ (LGNZ) President Stuart Crosby, Central Hawkes Bay Mayor Alex Walker who represents rural communities on LGNZ, and Productivity Commission chairperson Ganesh Nana held a press conference on Wednesday morning to respond to the report with all three in agreement that the current system needed to change. READ MORE: * Mothballed community projects symbols of broken council funding model * Three Waters: Water assets must stay in community ownership * Productivity Commission calls for higher immigration rates to wait for more infrastructure I can assure you, change is happening because the current system is not working, Nana said. Crosby said the recommendations suggested more efficient use of taxes and rates but, thanks to climate change and other situations, it was unlikely to lead to relief for ratepayers. It would be foolish to say rates are going to go down, he said. But, without changes, there would be further large rates rises which some of the proposed changes could head off. Many councils around the country have recently delivered eye-watering rates rises amid a cost of living crisis. Wellington City, for example, has agreed on an average 12.3% rise in its third hefty rates rise in three years, while Auckland faces a 7.7% average which was only kept relatively low after the council sold a 7% stake in Auckland Airport and borrowed an extra $100 million. Crosby said some of the recommendations, marking the biggest local government change since 1989 reforms, were certain to be controversial but he implored people to look at them objectively. It wont just sit on the table. It is far too important, he said, calling for regions to put parochialism aside. It is frankly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Issues such as the recent revelation about the Wellington City Council making a $250m miscalculation in the benefits of lower city speed limits , or the Auckland Councils response to recent flooding highlighted the current issues with local government. Walker said a key part of the proposed reforms was better working between local and cental government to replace the current Oliver Twist syndrome of, please sir, may we have some more as councils asked the government for bailouts. The Wellington City Council recently needed a $6 million government bailout after a council-led error led to street lamps crashing to the ground and 17,000 of them having to be replaced. An internal review into the issue identified a "siloed and ineffective" system that meant a safety message had to pass through three managers to reach the person in charge.