Clouds of Heaven: Auckland Mayors savaged

The NZ Herald has savaged Auckland's mayors over an article that the got published yesterday:register overnet 0.52

It tells us their projected rate increases, many times the likely annual inflation rate, are not needed primarily to finance new infrastructure, as we thought when we questioned that purpose in an editorial last week. The thrust of the mayors' response is that rate rises of this size are required to maintain present operations. If this is so, the weakness of Auckland's local government leadership is worse than we feared.

...register overnet 0.52

If rate increases are needed to maintain ordinary council operations, our elected representatives are letting us down. Political representation is the only means we have of putting local bodies under the sort of financial discipline that competition exerts on private firms. Political discipline works reasonably well nationally, where no government would dare raise tax rates every year, but it seems not to be working in local government.register overnet 0.52

...register overnet 0.52

By signing the article, the mayors revealed that they believe anything less than the councils' scheduled rate rises amounted to a "cut" in essential services. They have signed a confession of fiscal weakness. Voters next year should not forget it.

I definitely concur.register overnet 0.52

I have said on a number of occasions that the level of rate rises is ridiculous and unsustainable. The reason that the councils what this level of rate rises is not to continue to fund existing services, but because they want a number of "world leader" and "world class" projects, costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Their article starting by asking those who don't want a large rate rise, what services they should cut. Well, I don't think we need to cut services.register overnet 0.52

Firstly, we need to review all these new projects and see if they are really needed. And if they are, is the council the best entity to run them, or should it be done by the private sector?register overnet 0.52

Secondly, how efficiently run are their existing services. Private business have to make efficiency gains all the time, or they go out of business. I very much doubt that the council puts anywhere near a similar effort into their services, simply because there is no incentive to do so.register overnet 0.52

Our local council seems to be totally out of control. Maybe we need some sort of recall system, or preferably, a more transparent revenue gathering mechanism for councils, where they would think twice before increasing taxes. register overnet 0.52

Hat Tip: David Farrar register overnet 0.52

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

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