22 June 2015
[from David Thornton]

Auckland Councillors cannot abstain on a vote on setting rates.

Councillors cannot abstain on the most important decision this Council must make – setting the level of rates for the new financial year commencing 1st July.

If the council does not approve the level of rates for next year it will not be legally able to send out rates bills and collect rates from every one of its 550,000 ratepayers.

Without that rates income the whole business of the council would collapse, all debt could be called and in – and the repayment of that debt, plus interest, would be extracted from ratepayers.

Reports today indicate that up to five councillors will abstain from voting because they cannot support the new Targeted Transport Levy which will push the rates increase to 9.5%.

The NZ Herald reports that, out of a total of twenty-one members, the Mayor can only muster eight votes to support his budget, with six councillors pledged to vote against. Two of the Mayor’s probable supporters are overseas, even with them the maximum vote in favour would be ten.

If the five abstainers follow their conscience, they should act in accordance with their public statements and vote against the new transport rate.

A simple resolution by 11 councillors could remove the Transport Levy from the budget and have the effect of reducing the projected 9.5% average rates increase down to between 5% and 6% average.

Councillors have the power, and the numbers, to defeat the Mayor and get the rates bill down to a level which is not going to drive people out of their homes.

The intended income from the Transport Levy was to be used for transport projects around the city and without the income those projects cannot go ahead unless the budget is prioritised.

The simple and obvious option is to cancel the ‘early start’ to the Central Rail Link.

There is no urgency or justification for this early start, especially in the light of the Government’s restated position in Parliament last week by Transport Minister Simon Bridges.”.. . In terms of the City Rail Link, we have been very clear that we support a business case in 2017. There are set criteria that will see it come forward, although they look unlikely to be met. In 2020 construction will start”.

The hundreds of millions the Mayor wants to spend on his CRL early start could be reprioritised to all those projects which were to be funded by the Transport Levy – and the Levy itself cancelled and rates increases brought down to 5-6%.

Those ‘abstaining’ councillors can bring this relief to ratepayers by simple following their consciences and using their votes to do what they believe is in the interests of their citizens and ratepayers.

Abstaining is not an option – they are elected to make decisions.

ends

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