Coast council accepts 27% rates rise — one of the highest in the country

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:

The West Coast Regional Council today adopted its new 10-year plan and with it a 27% rates rise in the first year.

In 2023 council ratified a 16.4% general increase and under its 2024-34 long-term plan projects a 12% increase in 2025-26, followed by rates increases annually of no more than 7%.

Council chairperson Peter Haddock prefaced proceedings on June 25 by noting "eight long workshops" from April 2023. They were to set the LTP consultation document before the draft was released for public scrutiny in April.

It attracted just 25 submissions.

The council voted on Tuesday, six to one, to adopt the LTP including the rates increase.

However, the formal rates setting has been delayed for the latest rating valuation for Westland district, the outcome of the annual Greymouth Floodwall meeting, and confirmation of regional flood assets values.

Disaffected former chairperson Allan Birchfield was the sole dissenter.

He said the council, with its return to inhouse capacity - away from a reliance on external contractors - was "getting too big".

Staff numbers are up to about 80 full-time equivalent this year from about 60 in previous years.

"I think we've increased too much in size.

"I think council needs to restructure downwards," Birchfield said.

In response, Haddock asked Birchfield how many workshops he had contributed his time to develop the LTP.

"None," Birchfield replied.

Birchfield also defended his absence from the LTP submissions hearing last month due to surgery.

Rebuilding in-house capability by lessoning the council's reliance on consultants as it embarks on major flood work across the region was an underlying focus in the new plan.

But councillor Brett Cummings also sounded a warning:
The council had to consider when "the tap of Government money is turned off", he said.

It risked being left bearing full-time employees costing "$300,000 a year" - the equivalent of the consultants council sought to avoid.

Cummings said the true cost of returning inhouse needed to be transparent for all to see.

"That's what people are going to be asking me. (Otherwise) it's like Shane Jones - it's all puff and wind," Cummings said.

Chief executive Darryl Lew said the 10-year plan formal start on July 1 marked a revitalised staff with a full leadership team for the first time in years.

The organisation had been "realigned" in anticipation of that.

"This plan positions itself to tackle those (challenges) for our community," Lew said.

"I'm particularly pleased that we have developed a financial strategy over the next 10 years that sees us return to surplus in year four."

New internal investment was gratifying to see including a full inhouse engineering team, Lew said.

Risk and Assurance chairperson Frank Dooley said the past 12 months signified a major turn for council with the LTP an example of what "has been achieved".

He said he felt like "clapping" for Lew.

"I think we owe a debt of gratitude to our CEO. He walked in here just on 12 months ago to a broken organisation," Dooley said.

"I'm excited as a councillor where we've come from 18 months ago to where we are today."

Haddock said council had "rebuilt a broken entity".

It could now achieve significant community outcomes, including the $22.9m flood resilience scheme for Westport.

While Birchfield questioned the 27% increase, Dooley was "impressed with the level of information" council had in order to ratify the LTP.

"Councillors who have participated in the eight or nine workshops are fully conversant today," he said.

Acting corporate services manager Aaron Prendergast confirmed a 27% increase in both the Uniform Annual General Charge and the general "rates requirement".

Councillor Peter Ewen said council had faced other significant pressures aside from lack of staff including external cost impositions due to new central government policies.

"The reset we've done is facing that reality," he said.

"As far as having too many staff, being top heavy, going back in-house is one way of doing it. You can't have it both ways."