New Council may have to confirm previous Council's Annual Report
9 October
It is looking increasingly likely the new Horowhenua District Council will have to vote on the previous year's Annual Report at their first meeting on 30 October.
Since July there has been one "interim" June 2018 to July 2019 Annual Report and three "draft" Annual Reports, varying in digital size from 3.8 MB to 6 MB, presented to the Finance, Audit and Risk sub-committee
Yet, three months later, the Annual Report has not been confirmed, and matters are still outstanding with the Audit Office.
There is a growing number of concerns about how the existing Council has conducted its financial affairs, and conflict of interest matters.
In particular the known land and property development interests of deputy mayor - and fourth term Waiopehu Ward candidate Wayne Bishop - and mayoral candidate Bernie Wanden.
There is concern about the growing influence of Cr Bishop, who owns Wayne Bishop Investments Limited, a local multi-million dollar - and expanding - land and property development company.
Cr Wanden would not publicly talk about why his pecuniary interest was not recorded in the official minutes of the 11 September council meeting. Cr Wanden's spouse is a part owner of the land his business is built on in Levin Town Centre.
Mayoral candidate Victoria Kaye Simmons was one of two councillors who authorised the land transfer agreement of land identified as "non-core" by the Council, and sold for a cut rate price to Mrs Wanden, her mother in law and daughter in law. Kere Kere Ward candidate Cr Ross Brannigan also signed it.
The debt levels are also regarded as too high with generations to come being responsible for the spending of today. Potential infrastructure costs could also be an area of extreme concerns. All issues have been canvassed in several public forums as election issues.
Office of the Auditor General guidelines state 30 October is the deadline to confirm the 2018-2019 Annual Report.
🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
Do you think you know the answer?
Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed? No worries! Simply head here and click once on the Following button.
Scam Alert: Bank cold calls
ASB is warning customers about reports of cold calls from scammers claiming to be from ASB. These scammers are trying to obtain personal information, including usernames, dates of birth, and verification codes sent to your mobile phone.
🛡️ The "Caller Check" Test
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from ASB and you’re unsure, just ask them for a Caller Check. You will then be able to verify the call through the app.
Remember, banks will:
❌ Never ask for your banking passwords, PINs, or verification codes
❌ Never need to know your full credit card number – especially the CVC
❌ Never ask you to download software or remotely access your device
❌ Never ask you to purchase gift cards or transfer funds.
If you have received a phone call and think your account has been compromised, call ASB on 0800 ASB FRAUD (0800 272 372), or visit your local branch.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Loading…
