TDC’s motives questioned

Aldo Miccio is questioning the motives behind Tasman District Council‘s (TDC) scaremongering about the cost and scope of the petition for a review of amalgamation options.

Cr Miccio launched a petition on Friday 24th July, 2009, seeking the signatures of 10% of Nelson and 10% of Tasman registered voters, in accordance with the Local Government Act (2002). If these signatures are achieved, the Local Government Commission would investigate, draft a reogranisation scheme for consultation and then present a final scheme for all residents to vote on at a poll. The petition has been reviewed by the Local Government Commission.

Aldo Miccio says TDC’s Chief Executive, Paul Wylie’s claims that the Commission’s consultation could cost TDC rate payers are not correct and an exaggeration, and that the scope of the consultation is too narrow, are not based on the facts.

“The Commission has repeatedly advised TDC that it will cover all consultation costs and most likely any relevant outside consultants costs required, but TDC are choosing to ignore these facts, and are scaremongering to stop residents from thinking for themselves,” Miccio says. “In recessionary times Council should be looking at ways to improve efficiencies and reduce waste so they can better deliver value for money for rate payers. It is incredible that TDC are not welcoming, but rather discouraging residents from having their say.”

“If Paul Wylie backs his organisation, he should welcome the process and be happy that the Commission will consult and investigate and advise the community what great job they are doing,” he says. “Perhaps he doesn’t believe they are doing a good enough job for his residents? Perhaps he is concerned that the process will find that there is an incredible amount of waste and duplication in the current two Council model?

“And, what he has also not talked about in his cost argument, are the opportunities cost for ratepayers through current suboptimal joint-Council processes and likely cost duplication in the current two-Council model.”

“Mr Wylie also makes claims that the petition is very narrow, restricting the Commission to only a direct merger,” he says. “Those claims are at odds with s26 1 (a) LGA 2002 which provides the Commission with discretion to amend reorganisation schemes, which simply means any model and representation possibilities could be recommended. In making his comments Paul Wylie suggests a number of options are not possible but in fact these options are a possibility so he may actually get the scheme that he supports.

“Meanwhile, as I have said before, TDC Mayor Richard Kempthorne’s comment in the Council’s Newsline magazine on July 31st that “a petition to support an amalgamation investigation is not needed” is also not in-line with the many comments I am getting from Tasman residents.

“It seems incredible to me that the TDC seems unwilling to allow its residents the chance to have a look at the detail of Council amalgamation,” Miccio says. “The democratic process I am trying to secure for the wider region, would give everyone two chances to have their say – firstly the Commission would consult on its draft reorganisation scheme, and then everyone would get to vote for either the final scheme or the status quo.

“The petition is about letting the community make an informed choice and how we can achieve better outcomes for our region, have a more effective, efficient and prosperous region,” he says. “It is about having a chance to view the options, but for some reason the TDC does not want their residents to see all the facts, and yet people say to me they want to see an amalgamation model for themselves, so they can make up their own minds.

“As an elected member of the Council, I simply want an independent study to see what the costs and benefits of a union might be, so we can ensure we are providing the best model for regional planning,” he says. “I want to ensure that we are delivering value for money for rate payers. Surely this is local government’s responsibility in recessionary times.”

ENDS

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