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

Elected members started work on the annual plan/budget for the next financial year this week. The bottom line for ratepayers should have been good news (as noted in last week's column) but, as they say, a week's a long time in (toy) politics.

The $3.2million rates surplus from this year will be well and truly gobbled up by the big money munching machine in City Hall.

Un-forecast expenditure, which has been hovering just below Council's financial horizons, was finally shown the light of day. It would be nice to think that this is coincidental to last week's majority decisions to return the $3.2million rates surplus as a reduction in your next year's rates. C'est la vie.

A total of $734,000 from rates for interest on the Pyes Pa by pass which will now not be capitalised (added to the loan). Around $11million is the debt now and if interest continues to be added then the loan becomes too top heavy and may never be repaid, staff said. Never mind that the original intention was to build the road, which is a State Highway, when the opportunity existed for attractive savings, while The Lakes subdivision was being constructed back around 2004. Then Council's share, around $8million, was to be added to Route K and the whole lot transferred to then Transit NZ by June 30, 2011. Then along came the financial crisis and Christchurch earthquake and you know the rest.

A $10million loan to fund purchase of land of around 171hectares at Te Tumu in Papamoa also now needs cash funding of the interest which has also been capitalised and the debt now stands at around $13million. This is a complex deal but in essence involved a deal that was intended to give the city a breather in the supply of infrastructure in the heady days of 2007. The very short story is the same as above except the interest bill this year is $1.4million.

I asked for the cost for the organisational and CCO review so far. This process was started by the late Ken Paterson and under his watch $132,868 plus $137,701 on TCAL was spent. Leigh Auton continued the process and to date $222,587 has been spent with an estimated $222,413 to go. Add to this possible redundancies and, hey presto, another $2-3million has disappeared. With all that we're already at about $4-5 million, so there's the rates surplus accounted for. Just as well we didn't pass the minority vote to use the surplus to repay debt? If so, we would be looking at another huge rate increase. As it is we'll be looking at an around three-four per cent rates requirement increase net of inflation and growth if it all goes through the draft, submission and consultation process.

We have been advised that elected members may have some difficulty in assessing individual line times against last year because the system has been changed. Takes me back to the Blackhole Budget when Stephen Town took over as CEO so we have to be extra vigilant on the bottom line. Already a number of not insignificant errors have appeared. Some priorities have been altered, for example a major flooding problem at Roxanne Place, a commercial area adjacent to the Oropi roundabout has moved to high priority after major flooding this year. A big surprise? I would have thought not as it was low-lying land adjacent to the Waimapu River which has regularly flooded forever.

I asked how this land was allowed to be built on in the first place what with all the expensive advice and City Plan experts. I was told it wouldn't be allowed in that form today. Oh, okay then. Apparently it was built 2.7metre above water and now it would be 3.2metres. Silly me. Estimated cost to remedy flooding is around $600,000 so now something else moves down the list in the 10 year plan.

All this was going on while Council was busy providing such essentials as Baywave, Art Gallery support, museum proposal etc. At the time a few of us protested misdirect priorities but the majority view to support the wants, needs and deserves brigade prevailed. So now here's yet another example of a waterlogged chicken home to roost. Those spendthrift days are well and truly gone and so are a lot of the people who supported the spend up and now we have a more or less core 'business/service as usual” budget, with some meaningful downward trending as far as increased rating requirement for next year.

Intention at this stage is to provide the same levels of service with some alterations (like chip sealing some roads) that went through last year. I won't overload you with all the numbers just yet because they will change, but Council's rating requirement will be in the order of $107million (my guestimate) up from this year's $103million.

We are gradually selling off non-strategic property holdings to get money to buy strategic property if/when it is required. Meantime the proceeds from these sales sit in Council's 'internal” bank and offset the Council debt. Baycourt has had 'quite a re-jig” according to staff and rating subsidy is down from $1.826million to $1.756million, with another $200,000 reduction expected from operational savings.

Another 30 minute tree saga – the last one to be heard by all elected members before it goes to the tree sub-committee comprising 'Chainsaw” Baldock and 'Crosscut” Christiansen and other brave councillors. This time an Elm tree in 17th Ave gets a reprieve. A real 'haircut” and a 12 month review to see how it goes in response to a petition for its removal. Larry said that it should go, but Tony thought it was part of the character of 17th Ave. Surveyed residents were split 50/50 on whether it should stay or go.

At council, in this ridiculously PC world, there is a policy for almost everything except breathing. The latest is a 'Volunteer Community Participation” policy – it's PC blah. Remember when you used to turn up to a working bee, do the work, have some fun and a beer after? No longer, thanks to Health and Safety and other liabilities Council may incur from Big Brother. Talking about Big Brother, how about The Weekend Sun editor's threat/promise to run for Council in last week's Rogers Rabbits. If he did and got elected it would be the ultimate fox in the hen house analogy. Great stuff Brian.

Which brings me to this week's mindbender – from anonymous: 'Nothing is fool proof to a sufficiently talented fool.”