Councils Holding the Country to Ransom

[north shore]

need a like button Perry. Be interesting to see the reaction as this is going to be city wide regardless of how your rubbish is picked up, apparently ALL properties will be charged for it.

[Perry]

It's the 'screw you all' approach that's galling.
I compost all food scraps which are not eaten by hens or ducks.
Fortunately, the local council has yet to turn into a food scraps Gestapo.

[north shore]

Definitely its only user pays when it suits them, the rest of the time its you WILL pay

[Davo36]

They likes their money! Oh and your money too!

[Perry]

David!

Tut, tut.

They have no money at all that they do not first statutorily demand-with-menaces / take from Ratepayers.

All else is borrowings.

Also paid for by Ratepayers.

Ratepayers caught between a crock and a crap place.

[Davo36]

You might have commented between my posting and my editing then re-posting.

Yeah I know, it's all our money. What I guess I mean is that they get addicted to the constant inflow of cash and they never ever want it to stop. And not only that of course, they're constantly dreaming up ways to squeeze more out of us.

Like the mafia.

[eri]

oh yes

the lefty councils have no wish to EVER reduce spending

or even tie it to inflation

to them it's all about increasing services

pretty much regardless of the cost

and that's why len brown's

world's most liveable city

became

world's most unaffordable city

teams of them are right now

dreaming up new targeted rates

and shifting traditional spending to these new categories

so they can persist spreading the lie

that "rates" have only only gone up 2.5%

[sidinz]

Well here's a new and nefarious way to swell their coffers....

https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/111027977/elderly-auckland-couple-told-to-pay-1800-fee-to-clean-up-public-park?cid=facebook.ad&fbclid=IwAR0PgZfJdefYU9pOwsAO9BMgAamnVbF_CCoJzwhRvFkcbbuP1diR8LPxXQU

[Wayne]

Well here's a new and nefarious way to swell their coffers....

https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/111...buP1diR8LPxXQU

Seems to me that there is more to that story than we are seeing.
Or it could be a 'standard' bureaucraticcock-up.

[eri]

sad thing is there are no coffers to swell

just a yawning debt hole to fill

caused by their belief that they can tax homeowners an endless increases, ostensibly to run the city infrastructure

but more oftenly diverted to thrown at 'people' problems

not what rates are for

[sidinz]

Seems to me that there is more to that story than we are seeing.
Or it could be a 'standard' bureaucraticcock-up.

The neighbour commented below the story.
Apparently there was some mesh climbing trellis and an old fire pit on the land from around 75 years ago when it was a kiwifruit orchard. The council called them a fence and incinerator, assumed the Winns had put them there ('built a fence') and decided that their presence there was proof that the Winns had been using council land for their private purposes and therefore they were liable for the removal/disposal costs.

Basically jumping in, guns blazing, charges slapped on without even looking into the facts. "Oooh, there's some stuff here. The neighbours must have done it. Naughty neighbours using council land. They'll have to pay."

[eri]

Wellington City home owners face a regional rates hike of up to 15.2 per cent

is wellington council aligned with the coalition?

they certainly seem to 'spend + tax' like they are

did they campaign on any promises to keep rate rises down?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/111679107/wellington-regional-council-proposes-three-rates-options--one-of-them-is-a-hike-of-152-per-cent

edit: pretty easy pick...

4 councillors identify as labour, inc. mayor

3 - green party

5 - independent

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_City_Council

nick, the mayor since 2016, ran on a platform of fixing public transport

how's that going?

[sidinz]

The thing about this story is not so much that the council requires a $40K traffic island (although looking at the photo I'm not sure why), but the fact that they expect the business to build it themselves.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12218138

[Davo36]

The thing about this story is not so much that the council requires a $40K traffic island (although looking at the photo I'm not sure why), but the fact that they expect the business to build it themselves.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12218138

The council only likes the money to go one way... towards them.

[jasonbinz]

Brilliant post!

I couldn't agree more! They spent a lot of money for nothing, but compromising people's living environment by claiming they are helping! Some council is counting things by 'mm' now, that leaves no contingency for people to design, it is completely dull because they spent a lot of time ( with $300 charge out rate ) trying to do their version of things rather than allowing for a little contingency which do not matter to the wider living environment.