The Dannevirke Information Centre management committee is arming itself ready to do battle.
A Tararua District Council proposal to incorporate the information centre into the community library complex on Station St has raised the committee's hackles, chairman George Popow told the Dannevirke News.
"We're not going to have a bar of it," he said. "If we aren't able to dissuade council from continuing to explore this option, then we'll launch a petition immediately. As far as I'm concerned, if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Mr Popow said he couldn't see the logic in putting the information centre into the library.
"You need to have a high road profile for an information centre - visitors need to find it easily," he said. "I think the council is just trying to creep through the back door with this proposal, because a similar suggestion years ago didn't go anywhere."
Mr Popow said the information centre committee members were all passionate volunteers who had the town at heart.
"With one fulltime and one part-time staff member, it's up to committee members to step in and help on a voluntary basis when needed," he said. "The information centre would never have to close for a day, we'd see to that and we're not going to lie down and let council move us out.
"The information centre is a brilliant shop window for Dannevirke. Taking it away to the library wouldn't be a saving. An information centre needs to be [in] a readily accessible, inviting building and the library isn't inviting. We also know visitors stay on the main street, they don't wander down side streets."
Keeping the cost to ratepayers at an acceptable level is important, said Tararua District Mayor Roly Ellis.
"The screws are being put on us to keep rates down. It's frightening," he said. "We are asked to give a service, but at what cost?"
Mr Ellis said he's aware that a number of councils around New Zealand were finding it hard to keep their rating increase to under 10 per cent and, while he wasn't prepared to comment on any rate increases for the Tararua region, he did say councils are all facing extra costs because central Government was putting so many new rules and regulations on their plates every week.
"They all cost," he said.
Tararua District Council chief executive, Blair King, told the Dannevirke News that tight budgetary constraints mean councillors need to consider where ratepayers' money is spent.
"From an accounting point of view, we have to consider the total cost of providing a service," he said. "I appreciate the information centre has faced some big challenges, operating on a very tight budget, and it's a credit to them, but it's important that ratepayers' money is used for the optimum benefit."
Mr Popow said the information centre receives $35,000 a year from the council in quarterly grants - half the centre's income - with $6000 being returned to council for the annual rent of the town hall premises.
"Quite frankly, we live hand-to-mouth down there," he said. "Staff do secretarial jobs for different clubs and we sell a few souvenirs, which brings in some money, too.
"But, in effect, we babysit the town hall for the council, including taking bookings for shows. In three years we've taken in $42,000 from bookings, which goes into the council coffers. We receive a commission on those bookings, but before the information centre was in place, there was only $5000 a year earned in booking revenue."
Information centre committee member Malcolm Peffers said the main source of income for the centre was the commissions it received from bookings for shows and travel.
"We're also an agency for TicketDirect theatre bookings for Hastings and Palmerston North and, since the Dannevirke travel centre closed last year, we've been responsible for bus bookings for travellers," he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Popow said his committee is unanimous in its stance. "We will not move," he said. "In less than an hour on Tuesday, a member had filled one page of a petition with signatures. I think that shows what pride the people of Dannevirke have in their information centre."
As part of its long-term plan, the Tararua District Council was also looking at a proposal to have the Pahiatua Library and council service centre share premises.
"It's a much more efficient proposition," Mr King said.
Last year, 7000 locals visited the centre, with 2000 other Kiwis and 1600 overseas visitors.