LTP Presentation to Commissioners 16 June 2021
Good afternoon Commissioners, Anne, Stephen, Shadrach, Bill and TCC CEO Marty.
“ The confirmation email said you have read the submission. It is number 1694. I see the number is up to 1813 at the last look. One wonders about the usefulness of making submissions and also why there are so many submissions.
A quick recap of the PRRA submission …..
· Build Papamoa East Interchange now before development work starts in Te Tumu
· Bring Papamoa arterial roads up to modern standards and/or build to their design
· Rate increases are too high, keep increases to inflation plus 5% at maximum
· Council staff salary increases to be the same as the Government is offering their staff.
· Council operations, competency and staffing levels to be independently reviewed before any increase in number of staff employed.
We have here in Tauranga, a Long Term Plan developed by council staff with I suspect great influence by central government, and a team of government appointed commissioners, who have been here for around six months, with a mandate from central government to pass this Long Term Plan, and who will adjudicate on our submissions. How can the commissioners learn enough about the unique problems and concerns of Tauranga in only six months to make good decisions for the future of Tauranga? This is a herculean task and beyond my capacity. I wish you luck.
To summarise the LTP process is
Years of council staff and central govt input, adoption of Smartgrowth ideas, two weeks of submissions, 4 weeks of deliberation. And then sign off on the original plan.
AND very very little ratepayer input at the right time.
This LTP is all about growth and enormous rate increases to pay for the growth. This plan is about continued urban sprawl into new greenfield housing sites with the associated very high infrastructure cost, and no real benefits to the existing community quality of life. And what does it do for Tauranga, increased traffic congestion, increased pollution, disconnected communities, hollowing out of the city centre, a disjointed public transport system, increased travel times, raising stress levels, enormous infrastructure cost and exorbitant rate increases for the captive ratepayers.
The required rate uptake will go from $192 million to $412 million per annum.
By the last count this will be a 240% increase in rates over the lifecycle of this plan. It doesn’t matter who pays the rates, commercial or residential, the proposed increases are unaffordable.
Urban sprawl has not worked in other NZ cities after they reach a certain size, why will it work in Tauranga, why is this council’s planners blindly following everyone else. There was a chance to do something different? Declare a moratorium on expansion outside the current city limits – Tauranga can accommodate the expected population growth easily inside the existing city limits. If we want to do it, we can.
But back to the present, we are all puppets in this LTP scenario, with our strings being pulled by other masters. Will you be happy in the future with the legacy this Long Term Plan will leave Tauranga, congestion, astronomical levels of debt for ever, exorbitant rate increases, reduced quality of life for the residents? This is a very bad legacy for the next generations to service.
The solution is a sustainable long term plan.
To do this, we need engagement and input from all of the residents, not the lopsided process we have now. Which is , the goliath of council and central govt telling us what we will have, versus the davids or lone interested ratepayers of this city trying to balance the debate.
I have read online many of the wonderful future looking submissions to this Long Term Plan for this town. All these ideas would benefit from a compact city, a good public transport system and a surplus of rates to fund them. Instead, we are looking at a debt mountain.
Rates rises should be no more than inflation + 5%. Tauranga rates currently are amongst the highest in the country.
If housing development and infrastructure needs more money, ask central government to top it up. After all they created the problems with their mass migration policies.
This leads me to the other point I would like to raise.
On 28 April 2021, the Papamoa Residents and Ratepayers Association made a written submission to the council and commissioners asking for annual funding to be able to employ experts and consultants to inform and work with the ratepayers to have the information and knowledge to debate equally with the council on the future and plan changes of Tauranga.
To date there has been no response apart from a note saying it had been received. This is very upsetting.
In summary, the rate payers of Tauranga should not be made to fully fund this draconian long term plan.
And to repeat -- successive central governments have created the housing problem by massive immigration levels. Central government must fund this and the supporting infrastructure. Rate increases must not exceed inflation + 5% .
Thankyou
The submission was met with an unexpected meeting response from Anne Tolley who said the following from my meeting notes. There is a video available to check.
1. It is a myth that central govt controls the commissioners. Who appointed them, and gave them a mandate to pass.
2. Central govt is not influencing council staff ( and then added unless it is a legislative requirement) which is what the LTP new housing areas are. There is also ample evidence of changes in council thinking to compete for contestable funding offered by government eg Cameron Rd upgrade?
3. Blame the previous councillors for all the problems?????
4. Your request for funding is in the submissions. Subsequently I said a note saying this would have been courteous.
My point was it that the submissions are all too little too late.