Editorial: Why has it taken council so long?

It would be mean-spirited to criticise the council for deciding to lift rates by 2 per cent to cover the cost of flood prevention works in the city.

The decision dashed hopes of a near-zero rates rise but it is obvious the work is long overdue for long-suffering Matua and Mount Maunganui residents.

Instead of last year's $3.2 million rating surplus being used to drive down this year's rate rise to 0.5 per cent, the storm that hit the city six weeks ago single-handedly pushed the increase to 2 per cent.

The move by Mayor Stuart Crosby to boost the rates increase followed pleas from some of the worst hit Matua and Mount Maunganui residents, whose homes sit in the path of the torrents from stormwater systems not designed for so much infill subdivision.

Councillors heard from anguished flooded-out residents about how their lives had been turned upside down by owning properties that flooded every time there were heavy downpours.

Sewerage systems also failed to cope, meaning septic wastewater mixed with stormwater.

Commons Ave resident Gary Bishell told councillors the latest flood sent about 250mm of water through the ground floor of their home, resulting in a $60,000 insurance claim. The insurance company was now talking about raising the excess to $20,000.

Another resident, who had a "severely compromised immune system", said he lived in constant fear of the contaminated flood water leaving him hospitalised, or worse.

The man said he had been out in waste-deep contaminated water, axing down fences to try and save his home. He worried that should there be another flood, his young children would be towed under and drowned.

They were forced out of their home for eight months while $180,000 was spent repairing it after the May 2005 storm, and their property had flooded 11 times since then.

If the council is to be criticised, it should be for letting this situation go on for so long. After all, these residents pay rates as well and - up to this point - their calls for action appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

I'm surprised, given the history of flooding in these areas, that it took so long for councillors to realise what their priorities should be.