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A ratepayers bill of
rights
The
revelations that
Auckland
City
rates could rise to more than $70 a week for the average
ratepayer, strengthens my view that
New Zealand
may now be ready for a Ratepayer Bill of Rights.
A
Ratepayer Bill of Rights would not only protect ratepayers
from exorbitant rate rises, but would guide local authorities
in their activities. The Bill of Rights would contain three
core principles: a requirement for councils to focus on the
provision of core services as their primary role, a
restriction on rate increases through the introduction of a
cap on rates, and the establishment of a system of direct
democracy in order to give ratepayers a direct say in their
local council decision-making process.
In
2002 changes were made to the Local Government Act that
fundamentally altered the way that local government now
operates. Instead of being focused largely on providing core
infrastructural services to ratepayers - road maintenance,
rubbish collection, reserve upkeep, the provision of water and
other utilities – as well as the issuing and monitoring of
consents, local government was unleashed to undertake any
activity that could be deemed to be contributing to the
increased ‘well-being’ of the community. In
particular, the 2002 amendments re-defined the purpose of
local government to “promote the social, economic,
environmental, and cultural well-being of communities, in the
present and for the future”.
In promoting
these four well-beings, local authorities were given sweeping
new powers of general competence, allowing them to embark on
almost any project that the politicians or staff fancied.
From
the provision of Rolls Royce social services that were
traditionally the responsibility of central government, to
local think big projects like stadiums and events centers,
underground streets and inner city canals, to the operation of
risky commercial ventures - underwritten by ratepayers and in
competition with the private sector – the sky is now their
limit.
As
a result, around the country rates are rising relentlessly, as
council debt levels mount and interest payments escalate.
Further, with user charges for core services becoming
commonplace, it is little wonder that ratepayers - especially
those on fixed incomes - are feeling increasingly frustrated
and powerless.
Central
government is also adding significantly to that rates burden
as they push more and more responsibilities onto local
authorities: there are new strategies for waste minimization
to be developed, costly new dog control laws to be
administered, prostitutes to look out for, and expensive new
water quality standards in the pipeline. Further, councils are
busy drafting policies for trees, for cats, for the elderly
– you name it, and it’s likely to be on the drawing board!
With
local government now on the brink of a bureaucratic and cost
explosion, I believe the time is now right to consider the
merits of a Ratepayers Bill of Rights. If enacted, a Ratepayer
Bill of Rights would protect ratepayers from exploitation by
empire builders, central planners, and activists!
The
first requirement of a Ratepayers Bill of Rights would be to
redirect councils back to providing core services as their
prime responsibility. That would mean amending the Local
Government Act 2002 to remove the power of general competence
and the need to promote the four community well-beings.
The
second requirement would be to introduce a rates cap in order
to restrict the level of rate increases that a local authority
can impose on residents in any one year. The rates cap would
be based on the previous year’s rates along with an
inflation and population growth adjustment.
The
third requirement would be to introduce a system of binding
ratepayers’ referenda, as the Wanganui District Council has
done. Using this system, ratepayers can be given a direct say
in how their rates are to be spent and their city or district
run. Such a system would also ensure that ratepayers are
directly involved in deciding whether or not those expensive
projects that cause so much angst in any community, should go
ahead.
A
Ratepayer Bill of Rights would restore a sense of power and
control over local government back into the hands of the
ratepayers that fund it. It would also provide councils with
very clear feedback from the ratepayers that they serve, on
the best way forward for their community.
Ratepayers
throughout the country who believe that a Ratepayer Bill of
Rights has merit should contact me on muriel@nzcpd.com
so that together we can refine the concept as a sensible way
forward for local government in
New Zealand
.
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