Mayors Message - Roading meetings well attended

I write this after just completing the last of the six roading meetings that were held across the district. Meetings were very well attended. I would like to think ratepayers and residents gained an understanding of the issues that Council is grappling with.

The overwhelming feedback from ratepayers was the lack of water table maintenance and then when it is done, the standard of that work. Culverts not being cleaned to an acceptable standard, and grading were also consistent concerns.

As a result of these meetings we will form community groups that can provide local input to our engineering staff around the priorities for their area and also feedback on how well contracts are being delivered on. This should get ratepayers much closer to the decisions we need to make in our roading network.

A number of attendees at meetings indicated a willingness to be part of such a group in their area and I thank them for that. We will now have to define what those regions are and ensure we have reasonable coverage of community representation. If you are interested in such a role but could not get to a meeting then please email Sean Mahoney (smahoney@kaipara.govt.nz) your contact details and register your interest. We think these groups could meet quarterly at the start and as things progress that may be able to be pushed out to three times per annum.

Like almost every decision your Councillors make, our debt position is a major consideration. After leaving some of the meetings I am not sure the reality of our situation was well understood.

In the Local Authority Comparatives table (attached) you will see a sample of similar rural district councils and/or our neighbouring councils and their indebtedness. Some of those councils will be on the brink of embarking on a major capital spend, the Far North being a good example, but overall Kaipara is unfortunately the outlier.

You will see from the sample of smaller councils like Kaipara our debt per ratepayer is over double the average of the group. That is the reality that your new Councillors have to work within. Our ability to spend additional money on roads that does not carry an NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) subsidy is not an option for us at present.

For those who could not attend a roading meeting, the presentation (which is quite self-explanatory) is on Council’s website www.kapaira.govt.nz.