Councils Holding the Country to Ransom

[mrsaneperson]

Yeah the money doesn't go into infrastructure, it goes into all sorts of stupid crap.

Seriously, I reckon I could reduce Auckland Council's expenditure by 1/3 to 1/2 without any loss of service. Easily.

But it would be impossible to do because the staff would revolt.

Thats easy for you to say. Yet online here in many posturings you've supported outlandish flawed council rulings on granny flat & basement dwelling setups trying to generate irrational fear into the minds of many property owners that had no control over many of those situations, including myself . There are a multitude of differing situations involving minor dwellings that 1000's of folk find themselves in & it is not serving anyones interests by pretending to swing a bat at the council yet supporting their "non enforceable" rulings & advising folk to "pretend & hide". I say "walk the talk".

If we want to make the council more functional we need to get rid of many of the layers of bureaucracy & ill conceived spending.
We can only spend what we've got, yet this council is seriously mismanaging our rates money & borrowing Billions of dollars offshore, effectively mortgaging everyones future.

Davo local board elections are coming up ;i'll be steering away from superficial bs marketing campaigners.

[Shalodge]

Seriously, I reckon I could reduce Auckland Council's expenditure by 1/3 to 1/2 without any loss of service. Easily.

But it would be impossible to do because the staff would revolt.

Davo .. the reason that its impossible is not because Council staff would revolt but because we live in a democracy.

Think about it...

Russell

[Davo36]

Auckland Councillors can now see the information their grimey little bureaucratic underlings get to see:

Brian Rudman: Bureaucrats beaten at own game

Dogged Auckland councillor jolts power structure back in favour of elected representatives' right to know

Dogged Auckland councillor jolts power structure back in favour of elected representatives' right to knowcomment Sandra Coney has scored a win for open government. Photo / Natalie Slade


Let's hear it for Auckland councillor Sandra Coney. After a three-month slugfest with the bureaucrats, she has forced them to concede the politicians' right to see background information and legal advice held by the bureaucracy.
The jockeying for power since the creation of the Super City three years ago has been a bit like the aftermath of an earthquake, with a series of aftershocks as new power structures lock into place.
Jostling away have been the mayor and his retinue, the chief executive and his army of bureaucrats, the local boards and the 20 elected councillors.
For these last, it's been a struggle, not just for power but, in the eyes of some of the more experienced hands, for relevance as well.

Rest of Article

So even councillors have to sue the council staff to get what they want. Where will this end?

[Davo36]

Davo .. the reason that its impossible is not because Council staff would revolt but because we live in a democracy.

Think about it...

Russell

I'm sorry, I'm too thick to guess what you mean?

[eri]

^

my reading

as long as we live in a democracy

the party that makes the biggest bribes to the most people

wins

councils main revenue is rates

if they use rates revenues for pork-barrel politics "free pools for all"

they won't have anything left for infrastructure development

but that's OK as greedy local body voters, who already have their digs

don't care about infrastructure development that will benefit future home owners

in fact

shifting infrastructure development costs to developers and new home buyers

gives all current home owners

a $100,000? tax free gift

and this is why

central government needs to legislate councils back into responsible "rates paid, infrastructure development"

[Davo36]

Yeah except central government play all those games too. We're borrowing $300m per week to pay for Working for Families, interest free student loans etc. So they're no better.

In Auckland there's $9 billion worth of stormwater and wastewater works that need doing. And they spend around $200m a year on it. Which means it will never get done. Why? Because it's all stuff that's out of sight and out of mind.

So they spend money on populist crap instead. Sigh.

[Perry]

You think that's rough? Imagine a Racialrua type thing
in Auckland, (aka the Unitary Scam) to mirror this?

Call For Rotorua To Be Run By Maori

Rotorua should be run by Maori, a woman standing for election as mayor of the city says.
Janine Bosma said she would like to see Rotorua District Council replaced by a Te Arawa Tribal Council.
But she would not say how she thought Pakeha electors might be represented under that arrangement.
Ms Bosma is up against stiff competition for the mayoralty: the other candidates are incumbent Kevin Winters,
former Labour MP Steve Chadwick, Helen Hindmarsh and Rob Kent.

The potential for a Maorifia Protection racket looms large.
Start checking out security services, soon.

[Shalodge]

So they spend money on populist crap instead. Sigh.

Got it in one!

Democratic organisations are only as wise as the collective wisdom of the people and wisdom is in short supply in NZ at present!

[Davo36]

How's this for a case of councils tying people up in knots:

420-plus homes ready to go, but council might take decade putting road to elsewhere through site

It’s taken 10 years for an intensive housing & commercial development of 420-plus residential units above Oteha Valley Rd, Albany, not to go ahead. And it could take another 10 years for it still to be able to proceed if Auckland Transport is allowed to extend the timeframe for a roading notice of requirement out to 2022.

Article

[speights boy]

It’s taken 10 years for an intensive housing & commercial development of 420-plus residential units above Oteha Valley Rd, Albany, not to go ahead. And it could take another 10 years for it still to be able to proceed if Auckland Transport is allowed to extend the timeframe for a roading notice of requirement out to 2022.

What do the people working for Auckland Transport do all day ?

[flyernzl]

What do the people working for Auckland Transport do all day ?

I take it you are using the term 'working' in a fairly loose sense.

[speights boy]

Senior council workers in probe

A corruption inquiry at Auckland Transport has widened as a manager under suspicion has gone on sick leave.

The senior staff member is one of at least three Auckland Transport employees to have their computers seized as part of an internal inquiry into roading contracts.

The Serious Fraud Office is poised to step in. The usual $2-million threshold for an SFO inquiry would not be required due to the high public interest, a spokeswoman said.

Auckland Transport manager Murray Noone was fired last week after an internal investigation found "serious conflict-of-interest and performance issues".

[Davo36]

Seriously, when I did my project out at Papakura, I came to the conclusion that the planners make their own work i.e. what they do is basically hardly needed, but they inject themselves into every business (and other) situation they can, so that they can have some control and charge some fees.

It all starts with resource consents being needed for everything, then they fill those consents with conditions all of which need further planning input and assessment. It just goes on and on forever really. They'd have rules about people changing their undies if they could get away with it.

[elguapo]

Seriously, when I did my project out at Papakura, I came to the conclusion that the planners make their own work i.e. what they do is basically hardly needed, but they inject themselves into every business (and other) situation they can, so that they can have some control and charge some fees.

The primary purpose of planners is to ensure more work for planners.

[Davo36]

The primary purpose of planners is to ensure more work for planners.

Yep. Nailed it.

Their secondary purpose would be to collect 'development contributions' so that they can hire more planners.