AGM Newsletter February 2011

Whangamata Ratepayers Association Incorporated

The Year – 2010

• At last years meeting our reports were about excessive fee charging by TCDC and the need for major changes to the council at the October 2010 local body elections. The only good news was we could expect to see Environment Waikato remove mangroves from the Harbour real sooooooooooooooon!!
• Ratepayer Associations here and elsewhere in the Coromandel made no progress last year on what we consider to be excessive fee charging.
• For the October 2010 elections Whangamata Ratepayers Association nominated three successful candidates, Jack Wells TCDC Councillor, Keith Johnston Whangamata Community Board (Chairman), and Simon Friar EW Councillor (Deputy Chairman). We publicly listed our preferred candidates in all positions prior to the election. We backed Glenn Leach for TCDC Mayor. To do so we damaged a long standing friendship with Dal Minogue which we are very sad about. Glenn Leach was the outstanding Mayoral candidate and now heads up a council that we are pretty happy about.
• We have watched our new Council and Community Board settle in. They are drowned in paper. Pushed this way and that by staff, Government departments, and specialist pressure groups. People under pressure tend to oil the screechiest doors. We, the ratepayers who pay 80% of TCDC’s costs need to remind Councillors constantly that we are why they are in business. All candidates campaigned on very sound role principles. They were sound then, now, and into the future. We need to constantly remind them of that.
• Glenn Leach warned us not to expect quick results and early major changes. We accept this but do have some early expectations. A zero or at most a very minor rate increase. Transparency which means greater clarity in official reporting which also means shorter reports in plain, concise English. An early empowerment of our Community Board to take over greater responsibility in running our community’s business, supported by our local office, with authority to act.
• Like Coronation Street, the Whangamata Harbour mangrove removal is a continuing, rather sick, endless drama. Environment Waikato, Ratepayers, Harbourcare and Community Board have a special meeting set for a date prior to our annual meeting. We will be able to report in detail at our meeting.
• We can get very angry over mangroves. However I can state emphatically that I am satisfied that Environment Waikato’s Chairman, CEO, and Simon Friar have worked hard on our behalf. We will have quite a story to report at our annual meeting.

See you there
Regards
Don Tate

Please attend our Annual General Meeting to be held in the Old Hall of the Whangamata Memorial Hall at 10.00am on Saturday 5th March 2011.

 NEWSLETTER
15 June 2010


Neil & Julia McNee

At our annual meeting on Feb 20 we described in detail how the McNees changed the top floor of their shop building from commercial to residential status and converted it into a flat for their daughter. The cost of renovation including permit fees was $42000. The cost of TCDC fees for development, reserves etc was $43000.
The TCDC described their fee charging as using a blunt instrument. We describe it as extortion by people employed by ratepayers to serve those same ratepayers.
Neil took his case to TCDC’s Judicial Hearing for a fee review.
Three of our elected councilors sat on the judicial panel, one of who also sits on the TCDC’s Planning Committee that sets the “Blunt Instrument” fees.
TCDC’s staff advocate, presenting the TCDC’s case shared the same private morning tea room as the judicial committee when the case broke for tea part way through the hearing.
Predictably the McNees lost their case and were billed another $2100 for the hearing.
Total cost to date $87100.
TCDC’s judicial process is so flawed it would make a kangaroo court blush.
The McNees decided ‘enough’ and agreed to pay all outstanding fees on 2 Feb 10.
TCDC would not let McNee off so easy and managed to drag it all out for another month requiring several new processes to be completed plus additional solicitor and avoidable court hearing charges, all costing the McNee’s a final $10000 plus bill on top of the above $87k
This latter cost suggests TCDC staff malice and a warning to ratepayers not to mess with the “dog’s tail”.
Most disturbing is the part played by our elected councilors. They displayed contempt for their Ratepayer catchment in “Blunt Instrument” fee setting, the judicial processes they employed and general lack of support &or assistance for the McNees in a widely known Ratepayer problem.
This is election year and before we vote, councilors seeking re-election warrant some very tough questioning from ratepayers.


TCDC’s Annual Plan for the 2010/11 year.

TCDC’s annual plan (budget) has been passed, basically unchanged after being subjected to ratepayer submissions during March April.
Reading the plan plus other information on hand we note
- Rates have increased 3.5% (before the GST increase is included), rising from $64.0m to $66.3 this year, an increase of $2.3m.
- Staff salaries rose from $11.0m to $11.8m an increase of $800’000 for this year.
- It is interesting to note in this year when ratepayers are asked to pay more while services are reduced, development plans shelved and service fees increased the TCDC staff salary vote is hiked up 7.5%. This accounts for 35% of our rate increase for this year.
- TCDC staff numbers at October 2009 totaled 204 so if this was the average for the year staff salaries averaged $53921. If staff numbers are the same for 2010/11 then the increased staff salary vote averages $3940 extra per head. Alternatively it could also pay for a staffing increase of 15 people averaging $53921 each.
- We have noted that cuts of services to ratepayers have involved services provided by contractors rather than TCDC staff. Service cuts, delayed development projects etc affect current ratepayers. When times are tough we expect some pain. What we can not understand is why we are still proceeding with the very expensive Coromandel Blueprint project. This project plans the future Coromandel 50 years hence. Between TCDC, Environment Waikato, DOC and no doubt other Government agencies the cost is several million dollars. The main cost falls on TCDC and EW financed by our current rates. We pay for an annual plan every year. We pay for a ten year plan, revised every three years. We have not worked to a 50 year plan to date so in these financially stressed years would it matter if the project was postponed for say ten years; like some of our district development projects that directly affect today’s ratepayers? For example more footpaths or storm water drains! Could it be more about maintaining staff employment at our cost?
- One elected TCDC representative advised us that he had raised the issue of staffing at a meeting and was immediately put down by a very senior councilor with the advice that discussion of staff employment was off the table – or words to that effect.
OFF THE TABLE when staff cost represents 18% of TCDC’s operational budget??? Do staff set their own numbers, employment and pay conditions without proper councilor oversight?
- Whangamata Ratepayers have written to the Mayor and all councilors raising most of these issues. Our letter can be read on our website.


Road Signage Approaching Whangamata Town

The NZ Transport Authority has decided to change the confusing road signs at both approaches to Whangamata Town and working with TCDC should have the new signs in place by the end of June this year.
For at least fifteen years repeated requests to The NZ Transport authority to have the signs changed fell on deaf ears. Late last year Whangamata Ratepayers initiated a petition to the Transport Minister to improve this road signage and over the last holiday period 2300 signatures were gathered. Days before the petition was to be sent to the Minister NZ Transport advised in the papers that the signage was to be upgraded as part of a routine signs upgrade program. If routine why the need to advertise it in newspapers?
The lesson to learn is that people power can be effective when the objective is properly defined and pursued with determination.
In this case full credit must go to our committee man and petition organizer, Jack Wells.


Whangamata Mangroves

Mangrove clearance is the classic story of two steps forward and three back.
At the end of 2009 we believed real progress was being made. Since then it appeared to us that all steps have been backwards.
Our councilor Simon Friar has advised us to give it a bit more time.
We have exchanged very terse letters with the Environment Waikato CEO.
We have just received a letter warning we need to give them a little more time and that the CEO will arrange an early meeting. It is a tough letter but promotes the intention for progress.
We have decided to refrain from further newsletter comment until after the proposed meeting

Other Issues of interest

Numerous, but newsletters lose interest if they are too long.
We will make greater use of our website to keep you better informed.
The most important issue we need ratepayers to take in is the fact that local body elections take place this year. If we do not take the trouble to check out candidates selecting elected positions, or worse do not take the opportunity to vote then we get what we get!!


LOCAL ELECTIONS

Nominations of candidates for all elected positions will close on 1 August 2010.
Postal ballots commence 25 September 2010.
Elections end 9 October 2010.

Who can vote –

A voter must be registered on the Parliamentary Electoral Roll.
A ratepayer residing within the TCDC boundaries may vote one vote per rate paying property and only one vote per registered person.
A TCDC ratepayer who resides outside the TCDC boundaries may register with TCDC to have a valid vote for their property. For example a couple living in their own home in Auckland. One spouse can vote in the Auckland city elections. The other spouse can register with TCDC to vote on their property in the TCDC elections.
To do so they must register their intentions by 31 August 2010. For further information telephone toll free 0508 09 10 2010.

What councilors will represent Whangamata?

For this TCDC election The TCDC has been divided into four wards, two each on the Eastern and Western seaboards. We are in the Eastern Seaboard, Southern Ward which encompasses the larger towns including Whangamata, Tairua and Pauanui. You could describe our main area of interest as being south of a line going through Hikuwai.
We will elect two councilors, ideally one focused on Whangamata and the other focusing on Tairua/Pauanui.

At the same time we vote for elected positions in Environment Waikato, Hospital Boards and the TCDC Mayor.

Who do you vote for when you know little or nothing about the candidates?
Once we know who the candidates are we plan to investigate their qualifications and background experience. We will list and advise our preferences before postal voting commences.


We must be able to easily contact you.

This newsletter will be emailed to those members with recorded email addresses. Copies will be posted to the balance of you.
Postage is our single biggest cost and restricts our ability to keep in touch with members
Email is the easiest and cheapest method of contact for us. If you receive this newsletter in the post and you have email please advise your email address by return email, also stating your full names and postal address to ensure we marry it with your current contact details.


KIND REGARDS FROM YOUR COMMITTEE