Tauranga council has the lowest approval rating of any council in New Zealand ( see Scoop and The Post). We have the highest rates of any city in New Zealand (Ratepayers Report), and Tauranga is the fifth most unaffordable city in the world for housing (New Zealand Herald). Tauranga is predicted to have the highest debt per capita for any city in New Zealand. Average total rates (city, regional and water) are estimated to be over $12,000 by 2034. Tauranga is becoming unaffordable (SunLive Cost Of Living – People Are Drowning In Debt).
We need sensible spending, back to basics, reduce waste and unnecessary spending. The council organisation needs to be reorganised. It is bloated and ineffective. We need to get rid of the back room deals between council, big business and the developers. Tauranga needs financial discipline. Reducing costs and sensible spending is better value for ratepayers than just increasing rates.
What I Would Like To Do For Tauranga
If elected Mayor my initial goals are as follows (more would follow). Note: It will take all of the four plus years to deal with all or most or some of the problems and bring Tauranga back on track. It also requires that Tauranga elects a group of like minded candidates. One person on their own cannot change Tauranga, it needs a team. Please elect a good team.
Listen To The Community
We need to start listening to the community. The current Council seems to have a very small ear for the community and small business, and a very big ear for big business. That needs to change. I would like to experiment with community forums, community boards and other ideas to be more involved with the community. We should be focused on what the community needs rather than what big business wants.
Back To Basics
Get back to basics. Prioritise critical infrastructure and facilities instead of nice to have vanity projects. Concentrate on water, roads, and community facilities. Don’t waste money on nice to have vanity projects. Put new facilities in the suburbs where they are needed and are easy to access. Why build all these new facilities in the CBD and then add congestion charges. One billion dollars of spending on the CBD could be used for a lot of other projects in the suburbs.
Make The Most Of What We Already Have
Make the most of the existing facilities that we already have. It is cheaper to upgrade facilities than demolish and rebuild. Keep the Tauranga Domain facilities, Otumoetai pool, Memorial pool, Memorial hall and the Queen Elizabeth Youth Center etc. We can not afford to demolish existing facilities which are fit for purpose and can be used for years to come. Our facilities do need repairs, maintenance and upgrades, but that is not a reason to knock them down.
Stop The CBD Projects
Tauranga can not afford the CBD projects (over one billion dollars capital expense). Ordinary rate payers will be left paying for the projects for years, both the capital costs, and the ongoing running costs and interest. I would stop the CBD projects, and enter into negotiation with the construction companies. There will be penalty costs to stop the projects, but it will be much more sensible than letting the projects continue. Something will have to be done at the civic center site at some point. We will have time to consider better options.
Reorganise Council
The council is inefficient, top heavy and wasteful. The whole council structure needs to be reorganised, including council controlled organisations. Too many managers, wrong expertise, bad contracting strategy, lack of in house capability, the list goes on. Council controlled organisations seem to sprout like mushrooms after rain. Everything the council does costs much more than it should. Spending wisely and reducing costs is far better value for rate payers than just increasing rates every year.
Developer Charges
One of the reasons for the infrastructure budget shortfall is that Tauranga City Council has been under charging developers for years. Developers are currently charged 50% of the cost of infrastructure. This means that a lot of the costs for expansion fall on the rate payers. This needs to change. I would start charging developers the full cost for infrastructure, which would bring Tauranga in line with most other councils in New Zealand. (Glen Crowther Sustainable BOP Growth Does Not Pay For Growth)
Nominal Rents For Community Groups And Clubs
One of the reasons that we pay rates is to provide community facilities. Community groups, clubs, sports clubs and charities should pay nominal rents. We should protect our clubs and community groups. I would stop the push by the council and Bay Venues to drive community groups and sports from council facilities like the mercury arena and stadium, and the Tauranga domain. There are dozens or hundreds of unsung community groups and clubs which help make Tauranga a community. We should be supporting those groups, not trying to close them down. Tall high rise buildings in the CBD do not make community. Save our boat ramps.
Roads Housing And Planning
We have a roading crisis and a housing crisis in Tauranga. This is partly caused by bad planning, creating dormitory suburbs where you have to drive across town to where you work. Commercial and industrial activities should be embedded in the suburbs so that most people live close to where they work. Less time spent driving, less traffic congestion. Developing the CBD will make this worse by concentrating jobs in the CBD. Tauranga needs to be spread out so people can work and play close to where they live. Not everyone wants a section with grass to mow so high density housing is a good option for many people, but not for everyone. Give people choice. High house prices are mainly due to government policy, but council can help make housing affordable.
Fix Councils Relationship With Big Business
Tauranga Council is far too embedded with big business organisations such as Priority One and the Urban Task Force. This has to stop. Priority One is a big business lobby organisation which receives approximately two million dollars annual funding from the council. The council chief executive sits on the board for Priority One. That has to stop. The Urban Task Force is a lobby group for the developers and big business. The Urban Task Force is fielding candidates for Mayor and councillors, which is a direct attempt to influence council decisions. The Mayor, Councillors and council staff must be at arms length from big business and the developers.
What I Would Like To Do For Papamoa
Papamoa has been the fastest growing suburb in Tauranga. The coastal strip, Mount, Arataki, Papamoa area is also the largest population area in Tauranga. Papamoa needs more facilites and more funding. Papamoa and the coastal strip along with the other Tauranga suburbs will be starved of funding if the council spends one billion dollars on the CBD. If elected Ward Councillor for Papamoa, my goals would include the goals for Tauranga (above), and the goals for Papamoa (below).
Tsunami Routes
At the moment there are no viable Tsunami escape routes for Papamoa, and especially Papamoa East. There is a risk of a Tsunami and there should be civil defence plans in place, a method of warning people and escape routes available. Options for Papamoa are limited by geography, and the problem has been dumped in the too hard basket. The tsunami routes should be designed as part of the multi modal transport routes (see below). Public safety should be more important than one billion dollars for the CBD.
Better Roads and Affordable Housing
We need more roads. We need affordable housing. We need more jobs locally in Papamoa to reduce commuting. We need better planning. The council could face a funding gap of $400 Million for East Papamoa roading (SunLive). We should be able to live close to where we work and play. High density housing and low cost housing should be part of the planning mix. Not everyone wants a lawn to mow. There should be more one and two bedroom units, especially for older people who want to downsize. Give people choice on housing types.
Papamoa Pool
Support community initiatives like Papamoa pool. The pool is run jointly by Papamoa Primary School and the Papamoa Swimming Club. The club provides swimming lessons. The Papamoa pool is the only school pool in Papamoa and is used by Papamoa College and all the local primary schools. The pool is school and community funded, but council can help by providing extra funding for maintenance and upgrades etc. Papamoa pool is a very good model for other community pools like Otumoetai pool. A very cheap spend compared to one billion dollars for the CBD.
Multi Modal Transport Routes
Link up the multi modal walking and cycling routes from Papamoa into Bayfair, the Mount and Tauranga city. Multi modal routes for walking, cycling, and other options such electric scooters and as mobility scooters etc are good for the environment, healthy, safe, cheap to build, cheap to use and cheap to maintain. Multi modal routes should be part of the tsunami escape routes (see above). One billion dollars on the CBD means that there is not enough funding for multi modal projects which are far better value for money.
Papamoa Rates Surcharge For Tumu Infrastructure
Papamoa rate payers will pay a targeted rate for to pay for infrastructure for the future Tumu development. Tumu has been delayed until the 2040s but some of the infrastructure has already been built so costs and interest still need to be paid. This is exacerbated because developers have not paid enough for infrastructure on previous developments, and also because most of councils available funds are being spent on the CBD. There are also additional costs for moving development to Tauriko. (Glen Crowther Sustainable BOP Growth Does Not Pay For Growth)
Papamoa Waterways
Council have gone against the objections of local residents and have planted grasses, with some trees, over large areas of the Papamoa waterways. The grasses are unsightly, expensive to maintain and encourage vermin such as rats, mice, stoats and weasels (good news for our local ruru or morepork). Grasses have also been planted along the storm drains blocking the drains. Hartford Avenue flooded during the recent storms, probably at least partly because of the plantings. Remove the grasses but leave the trees. Clean out the storm drains to help prevent future flooding.