Andrew von Dadelszen Former Regional Councillor

Feedback from my first editorial was our Bay of Plenty Regional Council was indignant I said they received about $40m in dividend income from the 73,687,536 shares owned by Quayside Holdings (their 100% subsidiary) in Port of Tauranga.

Of interest, at $16.70 per share for Port of Tauranga shares, this equates to an investment market value of $1.23 billion, or $4596 for every resident in the Bay of Plenty.

I didn't drill into the detail in which Quayside issued $200m of perpetual preference shares (effectively borrowing from investors), and therefore part of this $40m dividend goes towards paying interest to these investors.

However, regional council receive the interest on the $200m, plus an approximate $4m a year in tax credits, with the proviso they spend this money on regional infrastructure initiatives.

This was a really smart move by our regional council, which has seen that $200m fund grow substantially.

However, I would note this was established in 2008, and yet seven years on the Bay of Plenty region hasn't seen much of this promised infrastructural spend.

In February, the regional council tabled their own commissioned Henley Hutchings Report on Local Government Reorganisation.

It stated: 'In 2013/2014, 64 per cent of general rates revenue was projected to be collected from Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty district. Rotorua was projected to contribute 19 per cent, Whakatane 12 per cent, Opotiki four per cent and Kawerau one per cent. The location from which rate revenue is collected is not the same as the location that BOPRC expenditure takes place. A considerable proportion of rate revenue is gathered from urban areas. The BOPRC functions tend to be focused on non-urban areas although the effects of these functions are felt everywhere”.

The fact is Tauranga City, in particular, is heavily subsidising ratepayers in Rotorua and to a lesser extent the Eastern Bay.

My question is why should Tauranga City ratepayers subsidise, year after year, ratepayers in Rotorua and the East?

Come on regional council – an 8.5 per cent proposed rate rise for our ratepayers is a disgrace. Regional councillors are elected, by us ratepayers, to use their governance skills.

So it's time to put a blowtorch to inefficiency and ineffectiveness, and not to continue to allow an already bloated bureaucracy to continue to be, what can only be described as out of control.

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me at andrew@vond.co.nz or visit www.vond.co.nz