Project changes and communication issues led to Christchurch Town Hall cost blowout stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Skara Bohny04:55, May 29 2021
Braden Fastier/Stuff
The audit, risk and finance committee meeting on Tuesday this week had a whopping 201-page agenda, with a lot of different draft audit plans both internal and external on the plate.
After a hectic few weeks of Long Term Planning at the city council, it was back to the daily business this week with a meeting of the audit, risk and finance subcommittee and a city centre workshop (covered in another article). First up the draft of Audit New Zealand’s audit plan for the council s upcoming regular audit. Highlights include audit fees to council increasing next year by about eight or nine per cent, catching up after Covid-19 postponed the increase.
Upper Hutt raises concerns over Wellington Water's response to criticism stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Waitaki deputy mayor Melanie Tavendale.
Local government is under the spotlight, but in my view, proactive conversations regarding the future of the sector can’t come soon enough.
Councils are currently facing the biggest shake-up since reforms in the 1980s.
As central government explores a more centralised approach to many aspects of our lives, such as education, RMA and delivery of our water services (just to name a few), we need to highlight the things our community can deliver more successfully than central government’s one-size-fits-all approach.
We are currently one of the most centralised countries in the developed world, with almost 90% of all public expenditure controlled by central government.
Wellington.Scoop report by Jem Traylen
Hutt City ratepayers will be paying more than the council’s headline figure of a 5.9 percent rates increase next year, prompting accusations that it is misleading the public.
Former Hutt City councillor Max Shierlaw said the publicised increase did not include a new targeted rate for rubbish and recycling, and the council’s budget showed that rates would be going up by 14.88 percent overall.
The Hutt City Council is consulting residents on its Ten Year or “Long-Term” Plan. It projects total rates income will increase from $113.3 million to $130.1 million – a 14.88 percent increase.
However, its consultation document states: “For 2021/22 we are proposing an overall 5.9 percent increase in rates revenue. This equates to an average increase of $2.50 per week per household or $130 per annum.”