Cr Bill Faulkner Faulkners Corner www.sunlive.co.nz

Your rates bill is due out this week. Council budgeted a 3.6% rate revenue increase to collect $102,757,000 from you as your compulsory contribution as a ratepayer/property owner to fund the running of the city for the coming year.

In addition to that are the user fees for water and wastewater. It's interesting how easily most people accept the financial burden as a property owner whilst only arguing the amount.

Why is it that homeowners, for example, get picked to pay for all manner of amenities totally unrelated to home ownership? Swim pools, libraries, parks and roads are available to everyone but all or part of their costs are met by only one sector. The point is that this financial obligation is unrelated to property ownership. It's long been my view that the general rate should be met by some form of income levy, like ACC, out of your income. Call it a community levy that would pay for these community services. It would be much fairer in that it is an income related tax which is a true measure of ability to pay unlike the present capital based rating system which is not a measure at all of ability to pay. Especially around Tauranga where many home owners are asset rich and cash poor.

Good old Government, in some quarters, even suggests a reverse mortgage so that you can burn up your hard earned equity in your home to pay. The double speak from some politicians, both Central Government and Local Government, is dazzling in its hypocrisy. Len Brown, Mayor of Auckland, is quoted this week talking up 'savings and efficiencies from amalgamation” in the same article detailing some Auckland ratepayers getting increases of 5% - 10% and others getting a similar rates decrease. This is Titanic deckchair rearrangement stuff. As noted previously there's a bill of somewhere more than $600 million just to get the Auckland amalgamated council's computers talking to each other. Some saving and efficiencies there. Yeah right!

In much the same way you saved $50,000 this week by not buying that new car you saw advertised. It's all smoke and mirrors, this present rating system, it's unsustainable and it's that that needs addressing – not Government interfering in Local Government. In fact Government makes all the rules that Local Government operates under and the solution is in Government's hands. But successive Governments can't or won't do anything constructive until it's too late for a lot of homeowners. In Tauranga the range of rates is $3,383 for a $1 million house to $1,892 for a $250,000 house for a difference of $1,491. The Uniform Annual Charge (UAC) no, not a charge for staff uniforms but a fixed charge every property pays of 30% of the general rates goes up from $690 to $720. But clearly a difference of $1,491 is still a large difference to pay for the same services. As noted earlier, totally unrelated to your ability to pay. Ratepayers with a $1 million home might be on basic super and those in a $250,000 home might be making $100,000. It's just so unfair and so different to circumstances that prevailed when the system was created a long time ago.

New interim CEO Leigh Auton has requested meetings with individual elected members next week. This is to meet and greet, outline our aspirations and views on how the organisation should go forward. It's a regular ritual new CEO's go through but nothing much comes out of it historically except each party sizes the other up. He needs to hit the ground running so there won't be much time for niceties. A review of the council organisation, a review of CCO's and progression of the Route K issues are an absolute priority for elected members. Leigh's is an interim appointment which indicates council's determination to get on and get the job done quickly.

One small bit of good news for him to commence is that there is a surplus from last financial year of $3.8 million due to a few factors including good management, and lower interest rates than expected. Council will decide what to do with it shortly but debt repayment and leaky homes support funding are likely to feature.

Council will also be looking at how the next budget can be contained. There needs to be a united front on what can be done without – that's both council and you accepting that things can't go on as they have.

TECT All Terrain Park has won yet another award. It really is unique and a huge success due in no small part to the enthusiasm, work and financial commitment of the many organisations basing themselves up there. It's really worth calling in to have a look.

The city has survived the recent rotten weather quite well. Particularly the storm water upgrades into which council has poured significant funding in recent years. Levels of services are to a limit and are not expected to be a total fix for all downpours.

Daisy Hardwick walkway didn't fare so well and is likely to be off limits for a while. Like the walkway along the Matua foreshore, council is looking for a more permanent fix rather than just clearing the debris. Noted that in India this week some 600 million people went without power due to poor infrastructure planning. On a much smaller scale this is what we are trying to prevent in Tauranga with forward planning for water, wastewater/Southern Pipeline and stormwater to cope before the event rather than patching up as we go.

This week's mindbender from Elilsabeth Elliot – It is always possible to be thankful for what is given rather than to complain about what is not given. One or other becomes a habit of life.