Come on Raglan. Surely we can lodge 90 submissions just from Raglan Whaingaroa!
Media Release: Waikato District Council, 1 May 2013
Mayor Allan Sanson is urging Raglan residents and ratepayers to make the most of the on-line submission form, which makes it easy for people to make their views about the draft plan known to the council.
“With six days to go, there’s still time to read the summary or the full plan, see what’s planned for your area, and make a submission. We need to know peoples’ views so we can make our decisions with a sound understanding of how residents view our work programme,” Mayor Allan says.
Evening meetings around the district so far have produced a lot of feedback from those attending.
Both the summary and the full document are available on the council’s website www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz. The submission forms are also on line at (http://www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/Have-your-say.aspx.)
Key draft Annual Plan consultation items include:
- Reduction in the proposed general rate increase from 2.37 per cent in the second year of the Long Term Plan, to 1.87 per cent in the draft Annual Plan.
- The council proposes putting more money towards its Disaster Recovery Fund.
- Targeted rates are proposed to increase for some halls, Raglan recycling and the Huntly septage facility.
- A new forestry targeted rate is proposed to help fund the maintenance of rural roads affected by the heavy vehicles servicing the forestry harvest.
- A grant of up to $15,000 is proposed for the Raglan Chamber of Commerce to help fund a Sunday bus service.
- Changes are proposed to grants and donations, with $20,000 proposed to be put aside for possible Annual Plan grants. People will be able to make submissions on the types of grants and donations that should be made and the benefit they provide to the community.
- Some fees and charges are proposed to change.
Why pick out the Raglan bus in this list? It’s only 0.026% of total spending, and much less than the extra $64,000 being spent on a Tamahere road. Why no mention that Raglan rates are increasing between 4 and 7%, while inflation is 0.9%? Why not explain that the Raglan Hall rate increase is mainly for a public toilet, which, elsewhere, is paid by general rates? Why only 90 responses? Is everyone else happy that rates are going up at least double inflation and some by 16 times as much?
I’m surprised by the lack of comment from Raglanders on the steep increase in rates. At the public meeting on the WDC annual plan, more people seemed to be interested in the proposed subdivision of the Rangitahi Peninsula.
If large numbers of people made submissions opposing the huge rate increases and WDC’s spiralling debt AND asked to make an oral presentation then things would change.
Maybe the lack of comment is because many people don’t feel confident in the written submission process – it takes a specific set of skills to order ones thoughts and put them into writing in a way that challenges the increase in rates. Making ubmissions is intimidating! Would a protest march outside the council building at a suitable time & day for people to participate be a better method. They could hold red stop signs written in Maori, English and any other language represented in our community with a message such as STOP! NO MORE RATES INCREASES for Raglan. Media could be invited and interview people about how they feel and why.
A protest march was the only way that Kaipara District ratepayers managed to get some attention and action on the Mangawhai rates.
The website has lost the summary document and the links on the website are hard to follow. To make an on-line submission, go to http://consult.waidc.govt.nz/consult24OLS/ and register. Then fill in your ‘submitter details’, go to the ‘Online submission form’ tab and enter your submission. As there’s no question about the massive rate increases, the submission about them needs to go in the ‘Any other comments’ box at the bottom of the page. You might prefer to write your name, address and comments on a piece of paper and drop it in to the WDC Raglan office! Am I the only one not to receive a copy of the summary plan in my letterbox?
When I try to save my electronic submission I keep getting this message “The page at consult.waidc.govt.nz says: There was an error saving your responses, please try again later.” Has anyone else had that? Is the only solution to print it out and hand it in?
As I said at the Raglan public meeting, I have no confidence in Waikato District Council’s ability to operate an online submission system and I have done my submissions on paper and handed them in at Council’s Raglan office.
As an experiment just now, I have made an online submission registration and started to make an online submission. I filled out the first screen of personal details OK, but when I tried to save the first page of my submission it came back with the message, ‘There was an error saving your responses, please try again later.’
So this confirms John’s experience. It also confirms what I said at the meeting about WDC’s lack of competence in providing an online submission system. I will raise this with WDC.
So yes John. Print it out and hand it in at the Council office. And ask them to give you a receipt. That seems to be the only reliable way.
I’ve tried again. It now seems to be saving responses.
Agree with Lynne. My previous experience with submissions from Raglan to District Plan as Cr 2001-2004 is that no notice is taken, and numbers/submissions are flicked through. Confidence in Mayor Sanson is not high re democratic process for Raglan, given his past lack of interest in Raglan generally, especially wrt sewerage case in Environment Court and now with this proposed “private” plan change no info forthcoming on how sewerage etc will be coped with + prison debate where major change forced on community despite full council meeting with full house from community attending and protesting but council went ahead anyway and stacked the Assets Committee to push it thro. If you want to have an effect on this council I suggest interested and confident folk make views public and write some articles for the Waikato Times. My advice for what it’s worth.
I have made an OIA request to the Council regarding the proposed private development in Raglan but am told there is nothing to report. This and the Whale Bay sewerage project surely has an effect on rates proposed for Raglan, which were kept within inflation targets 2001-2004 so far as I recall. Is the Raglan Cr the Chair of the Finance Committee, and if so, why are locals being kept out of discussions in committee which surely affect the proposed rate rises? I am having no luck with the on-line submission process, though as have said previously I am sceptical about any submissions being noted; 90 submissions seems to be good to me – surely a higher number than during 2001-04 when I was involved in the planning process.
Below, an email from John Lawson regarding an attempt for Raglan folk to be “involved” in the rate setting and planning process. Oh dear! Surely WDC can do better than this?
From: John Lawson
To: Lesley Syme
Sent: Friday, 26 April 2013, 10:36
“You might like to ask why the public was excluded from the Strategy & Finance Committee on Tue 12 Feb and for the minutes –
THAT the public be excluded from the meeting during discussion – Raglan Land Co Ltd
exclusion of the public is necessary to enable the local authority to deliberate in private on its decision or recommendation in any proceedings before the local authority where a right of appeal lies to any Court against the final decision of the local authority;
AND FURTHER THAT members of the Raglan Land Company project team remain in the meeting after the public has been excluded to facilitate discussion of the Raglan Land Company Limited Report as listed under item 2”
Mmmmmmm………………Mayor Sanson……….democracy needed here.
What is “the Council” (and your Councillor, thinking?
From: John Lawson
To: Lesley Syme
Sent: Monday, 6 May 2013, 12:16
Subject: Re: Meeting of Finance Committee re proposed private Plan change
Dear Lesley
It was the last item on the agenda for 12 Feb 2013. All the public was excluded, except for the Raglan Land Co.
I don’t think that meeting met the requirements to –
a) Protect members, or officers, or employees of any local authority, or any persons to whom section 2(5) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1997 applies, from improper pressure or harassment;
b) Protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons;
c) Prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or improper advantage.
Clint has been chair of Finance Committee for over a year. The minutes at http://waidc.govt.nz/Your-Council/Meetings-(1)/Committees/Strategy—Finance.aspx show Clint was chairing.
Presumably the sewage, etc was discussed at that meeting.
Thanks John.
Disappointing to see that only 2 of us are talking to WDC about their rates increases of up to 8% on Monday.and that no one has taken up Lynne’s suggestion of a demonstration, or did the Community Board discuss it?