Brian Anderson The Western Front www.sunlive.co.nz

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council meeting on the annual plan in the Katikati Memorial Hall last Tuesday was concise, purposeful and informative. The nine councillors, Western Bay of Plenty Mayor Ross Paterson, Deputy Mayor Paul Thomas, financial and other managers, with their assistants, were available to answer any questions from the public.

The questions from the floor were all focused on council debt and rates affordability which is quite understandable. Ex-councillor Ross Goudie was keen to pursue council debt and the other four attendees were pensioners from the Park Lane Retirement Village who only wanted to talk about rates. The Local Government League Table focused on the same topics so it was of little wonder that the council was prepared for a grilling from the floor.

The rates discussion came to an end when the council maintained the necessity of starting their rate projection calculations with the four per cent Local Government Cost Index figure, which they saw as their ‘cost of living increase', while acknowledging that pensioners would be lucky to get a two per cent increase in income. The accumulating shortfall every year is disastrous for pensioners despite rate reduction offers from council. For many the reduction has already been swallowed up by their rate increases during the last two years. When this was eventually acknowledged, the only help offered by one councillor was that 'it was a Government problem not the council's” and that the pensioners should complain to their Member of Parliament if they wanted any action. This council abdication of responsibility was not received very well at all.

Ross Goudie read out a list of debt figures and asked the mayor to explain the $30 million increase in 2011. His figures were challenged by Ross Paterson, and his deputy Paul explained that real debt had been stable at about $140 million for some years. Ross Goudie then brought the house (all five of us) down when he revealed that the figures had come directly from the council's relevant annual plans. When accurate debt and rate increases are so hard to find it is not surprising that people's trust goes out the window.

I asked only one question on the council's interpretation of inter-generational debt. The answer given was nothing like the answer I received three years ago when I was told by a councillor that capitalisation of debt was part of their strategy for spreading the load of infrastructure. I was assured that this is never done now but that the council does something with capital instead. The Government instructions are clear. Internal lending to cover short term deficit has to be declared and be available for public scrutiny. I confess that I could not quite follow the argument at the time and I was not helped when another councillor explained that it was just a normal table mortgage.

I have had a number of calls asking if Larry Mitchell will be visiting soon and if he will speak at any meetings. He will be in the Bay of Plenty in a few weeks' time but nothing is planned at the moment. He is willing to take part in any open discussion but a public debate might be a better format. The two Bay mayors' reported trashing of Larry's council league tables last week suggest that they might relish the opportunity to back up their statements in some form of debate. I am happy to organise such an event if it will help to bring everyone together – I believe I could bring in a few more to help our four pensioners with their questions.