Councillor upset over housing review
A Southland District councillor is against any attempts by his council to potentially pull out of community housing.
Councillor George Harpur said he would be against any form of privatisation of Southland community housing, which was discussed in a report reviewing the council’s community services.
‘‘Previous councils going back from the late 60s had decided that pensioner housing was a necessity for Southland.
‘‘They have paid rates to the Southland District Council, they have serviced their community through volunteer work and support of the infrastructure.
‘‘When they get to 70-odd they want to put their feet up for 10 years, and this report suggests we sell [the houses] off.’’
The report, produced by Morrison Low consultants, was presented at the council meeting yesterday, and detailed the delivery of Community Services.
Identified in the report were a range of issues, including a need to reduce the number of contracts across the board (currently there are 65 out-sourced contracts) and standardise them.
A recommendation was also made to opt out of the community housing service, where currently 69 housing units are provided over 10 towns across the district.
Harpur said any privatisation would increase the rental rate of the houses significantly.
‘‘If you’re paying $220 a week, you’re not going to go to Ohai, Tuatapere, Otautau or anywhere like that, they’ll go to the city where they have the facilities.’’
Council chief executive Steve Ruru said before any final decisions were made regarding community housing, more investigation would need to be done because of its status as a community asset.
‘‘It’s quite a long, protracted process.
‘‘Looking ahead, let’s get clear about the pros and cons of the different models.
‘‘Absolutely there is an argument to say we need social housing here, but let’s be clear about what those benefits are and the costs associated with doing that.’’
Councillor Brian Dillon said regarding the reduction of Community Service contracts, there needed to be a consideration of the social importance for small communities.
‘‘A lot of those smaller contracts supply work and income to those smaller communities, particularly in cleaning toilets and parks and reserves.
‘‘We have a strong social obligation for allowing those communities to do their own thing.’’
Mayor Gary Tong said the issue was not about removing contracts, but standardising them.
‘‘We have a commitment too that falls on the chief executive’s head and mine, what if someone gets run over by a lawnmower, for arguments sake, and they haven’t got the appropriate contract?
‘‘We’ve got to be realistic here folks, we’re in a different world to what we had three or four years ago or even less.’’
Ruru said council needed to be clear about stating its objectives in the long term plan.
‘‘Let’s make that explicit so we can be clear on the cost. Don’t say we want social objectives but want to do it as cheaply and efficiently as possible, you’ve got to have a balance between the two.’’
The recommendations were approved by council, with the next stage to develop plans and a business case for the delivery of the Community Housing service. Also discussed at the meeting was the draft for the new 2018-2028 Long Term Plan, where the community consultation document, titled ‘‘We’re Just Getting Started, Southland’’, was approved.
Three major issues were identified: investment in community future planning, completing the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail and funding the costs, and investing in open spaces experiences.
Rates are proposed to rise by 3.19 per cent for the 2018/2019 year, which includes funding for the three main proposals put forward by council. The consultation document will be released for public submissions on March 7.
Future planning
In the report, council have pro- posed a major investment in tracking the district’s changing settlement patterns, population, demographics, socio-economic conditions and visitor trends.
This is aimed at making the council better equipped to cope with both an aging population and an aging infrastructure base.
The report says this will create a challenge, as it will mean more money is needed to replace infra- structure while also dealing with ratepayers getting older.
In addition to this, the effects of climate change on the district will also be investigated, to help plan and adapt for the future.
By the time the data is collected, the report says it will be ready for implementation from 2021 onwards.
Initially, $150,000 would be invested in the project, which would be increased to $250,000 a year by year four.
This would result in a fixed rates increase of $1.45 per property in 2018/19 (rising to $2.99 in 2027/28), and a variable component of $0.63 in 2018/19 (rising to $1.30 in 2027/28).
Around the Mountains
The council’s proposal for the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail is about getting the trail up to ‘‘great ride’’ status, and coming up with a solution to fund the costs.
So far the net cost of the trail has been $4.6m, with actual costs of $10.4m and external funding of $5.8m. In the report, council have presented three options for the completion of the trail, favouring a $126,000 option which is significantly cheaper than the other two options.
This would not provide any new trails, but would put the finishing touches on the loop trail, and would not preclude any further developments in the future.
The other two options, which would include a significant extension of the trail, are projected to cost anywhere between $3.1 and $4m.
The council has also put forward its preferred method of paying for the trail, by taking out a 30 year loan to fund the net cost.
The reports says this is the preferred option so the cost can be shared over time, ‘‘so that ratepayers of today aren’t paying the full cost now’’, and recognising the full benefits of the trail will be experienced over a long period of time.
The other options include a mix of loan and reserve funding, or completely covering the costs from council’s Strategic Assets Reserve of $8.5m.
In the past, council has indicated the purpose of the reserve is to offset rates through the interest it accrues.
Open space experiences
The third prong of the council’s plan is to invest in a range of different open spaces, including parks, playgrounds and walkways.
As well as providing improved services for current residents, the plan will also help attract newcomers and tourists.
Council’s preferred proposal is to establish an ongoing annual provision of $150,000 for open space design and planning, along with $5.5m of capital expenditure from years 4-10 for upgrades.