April 2020: Local Board Member Report
- alexispoppelbaum
- Apr 30, 2020
- 6 min read
Rates debate: Council’s emergency budget
At the end of May Aucklanders will be asked to have their say on the Council’s emergency budget. This emergency budget is the Council’s response to the financial impacts of COVID-19.
Many of the sources of revenue Council relies upon to fund services has been reduced substantially because of COVID-19 (e.g. transport fares, consent fees, fuel taxes, event revenue, airport dividends). These types of revenue sources make up 60% of the Council’s income, with the other 40% coming from rates.
The consultation will seek feedback on a proposed 2.5% or 3.5% rates increase. Auckland Council were already planning on a 3.5% increase prior to COVID-19. The document will outline the impacts of what a 0% and 3.5% rates increase would look like – but 0% won’t be an option that they will be proposing. I know that this will disappoint some of you who have made contact with me about this. The consultation will also seek feedback on measures aimed at offering support to all ratepayers, including businesses, facing hardship due to the impacts of COVID-19. In the interim, there are a few measures in place already to immediately offer support to those experiencing financial hardship.
Revenue and borrowing impact of differing levels of rates rises. Copy of table supplied to Stuff.co.nz.
The consultation will run for 3 weeks and I will post it on social media when it is live. Local Board input will happen mid-July and the final annual budget document will be adopted end of July. We will also be placing in some feedback, earlier in the process, this week.
My main concern (and was prior to COVID-19) is that Council was in a terrible position to start with being up to their debt ceiling, having made the decision to borrow heavily for capital projects rather than increase rates or charges. Borrowing to invest in much-needed infrastructure is one thing – but to the levels they did is madness. With a significant loss of income and existing large debt, they are in a poor position. My key focus is to lobby for financial policy changes so that the debt-to-revenue limit is lowered. Of course, I would like to see a 0% increase like many of you, but in reality, there’s no leeway for this to happen – Council probably can’t provide basic functions at this level (info will come in the consultation on this). The impact on unemployment would be significant too with jobs foregone from projects not progressing. My call is that it will end up as a 2.5% increase.
Todd Niall wrote this very interesting piece for Stuff, commenting on some of the complexities of the rates debate that is well worth reading – ‘Big Macs v playgrounds and jobs – the rates rise dilemma’.
Severe drought continues
A severe drought continues to bite Auckland, particularly in the Hunua and Waitakere ranges which is home to the city’s water storage dams.
Lower Huia dam
The total volume of water stored in our dams has dropped below the halfway mark for the first time in more than 25 years. The total water storage is currently at 47% (historical average for this time of year is 76.5%).
Please continue to do your bit to reduce your water usage (but continue washing your hands regularly). There are no water restrictions right now but this may change if rain doesn’t arrive.
Watercare has been working to reduce the impact of the drought on its water storage dams. They’ve been maximising production at the Waikato and Onehunga treatment plants, which draw water from a river and aquifer. This helps to ensure there is less demand on the dams.
Over the summer months, Auckland Council implemented a tanker-to-tanker water delivery service. With tank owners facing long waiting lists when ordering water from commercial operators, Council contracted tankers from the region’s milk tanker fleet to shuttle larger volumes of water. Nearly 44.5 million litres of water was shuttled to tank suppliers. This reduced the wait and travel times for local operators and helped ease the backlog, which is now back to a manageable level.
Community container-filling sites are still available.
Buy local and support our small businesses
Our local Bays business associations have been posting information about what businesses in their area are open during Alert Level 3, and what services they are providing. Please support our local businesses where you can:
Browns Bay / Pinehill – Auckland Transport proposals
AT are consulting on some proposed changes in the Browns Bay and Pinehill area. Nearby residents have had letter drops seeking their feedback. If you have any feedback to provide, please do so by 17 May at the survey links I’ve included.
• The creation of separate right and left-turn lanes on Oaktree Ave • Installation of broken yellow lines on both corners of the intersection • Trimming of the corners of the kerb around the intersection • A new pedestrian refuge island and associated infrastructure • A new central median
• Moving of the bus stop and shelter from 730 East Coast Rd to 716 East Coast Rd (and associated infrastructure) • Removal of a pohutukawa tree • Modifications to the existing bus stop outside 609 East Coast Rd
I provided feedback to AT on this one to say that whilst I support a refuge island, I had concerns about the safety of pedestrians using it (especially school children) on such a busy road. I have asked what measures they can take to enhance safety, such as increasing driver alertness to the crossing point. I’ve also noted that I don’t support the removal of the Pohutukawa tree and have asked whether their designs can be reasonably altered to allow for its retention.
Outside 788 Beach Road • The installation of a painted bus stop bay at the existing bus stop. This will stop parked cars blocking the bus stop • The installation of broken yellow lines (no stopping/parking at all times) either side of the bus stop bay • Widening of the existing footpath next to the bus stop to provide more space for bus passengers • Trimming of a tree that is overhanging the road next to the bus stop
From 799 to 805 Beach Road • The installation of broken yellow lines (no stopping/parking at all times) from 799 to 805 Beach Rd
Pest numbers up with trappers in lockdown
New Zealand made international news, and our very own ‘Restore Hibiscus and Bays’ group was sought for comment. The Guardian, an online British news and media website, published this article: Boom time for New Zealand’s rats as lockdown gives them free rein in cities.
Photograph: NZ Department of Conservation/ Nga Manu Images
While all our hard-working pest controllers and volunteers are in lockdown, pests like rats, mice, stoats and possums have exploded in population, threatening our native birds and reptiles.
Restore Hibiscus & Bays is an umbrella community-led conservation initiative that represents 30 community groups and covers 155km of coastline. The group has a really great Facebook page, and have recently published some useful information about biodiversity, how to remove different pest plants, and tips on rodent trapping at home.
Council contract workers and volunteers are still not allowed in parks and reserves in Alert Level 3 – so, no trapping is going on at all, unfortunately. We will have to wait and see the damage this has caused when the alert level drops again to allow them access to traps in parks. With that in mind, the annual ‘Rat Trapping Competition’ has come at a perfect time. This year is the ‘lockdown’ edition and is limited to backyard trapping only, so if you’re up for a more unusual competition, then please get involved! Rats are the most challenging predators to manage, and our native birds need all the help they can get. Contact Friends of Okura Bush for a trap.
In Brief
I have mentioned before that I wrote our Local Board’s feedback to the Glenvar/East Coast Roads upgrade project. The Consultation summary of feedback has now been published. You can see my feedback letter on behalf of the Local Board on page 21.
The Government has tasked the Infrastructure Industry Reference Group (IIRG) to seek out infrastructure projects that are ‘shovel ready’ and can start as soon as the industry returns to normal to reduce the economic impact of COVID-19. I was pleased to look over the Penlink Now Group’s submission to the IIRG for a four-laned Penlink. This is a very high benefit-cost ratio project that the Hibiscus Coast community has been awaiting delivery on for a long time. It has been the monumental efforts of people like Janet Fitzgerald and Penlink Now to get it to where it is today. Penlink was also recently announced as a project to be delivered via the government’s New Zealand Upgrade Programme. Fingers crossed that it gets over the line and work starts ASAP.
Council submitted a list of 73 key ‘shovel-ready’ projects to the IIRG too.
No Business Meeting took place in April for the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board. No decisions could be made without a quorum, since we couldn’t meet in person. The recent passing of the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill allows local board members to attend meetings via technology like Skype while the Epidemic Preparedness (COVID-19) Notice 2020 is in place. Now that we can form meeting quorums under these situations, our May business meeting can go ahead virtually.
Council is temporarily relaxing the rules around construction noise for 4 weeks, from 28 April. Construction hours will also be extended.
Auckland Emergency Management (part of Council) has taken more than 25,000 phone calls and responded to 13,500 requests for basic food parcels.
Auckland Council Libraries staff were redeployed to make around 15,000 welfare calls to over-70-year-olds living alone over the past fortnight as part of the council and Auckland Emergency Management’s COVID-19 response.
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