Pukehina resident says community’s view ignored by council on rates refund

Pukehina residents will no longer pay rates towards a sewerage scheme. Photo / John Borren

A Pukehina resident has questioned why his local council bothered with community consultation after it rejected the majority’s view to refund more than $500,000 in targeted rates.

In 2000, Western Bay of Plenty District Council started collecting a targeted rate of $20 a year from Pukehina properties, a beachside town near Tauranga, for a possible sewerage scheme.

The council paused collecting the rate in 2022 after feedback from the community and uncertainty around the Government’s water reforms.

As part of this year’s 10-year-plan, the council decided to stop collecting it permanently.

The council asked the community how it would like to spend the $528,053 in the fund and gave the community four options.

Its preferred option was to repurpose the fund for existing projects, which 42% of submitters wanted.

The majority of submitters, 52%, wanted the money to be refunded.

Some 4% wanted the fund to be repurposed for septic tank cleaning and 2% wanted to retain for a future sewerage scheme.

During long-term plan deliberations, the council voted to repurpose the fund for projects due to the potentially high administration cost of rate refunds and the large proportion of people who wanted the money used on other projects.

Pukehina ratepayer Murray Howard asked why the council bothered consulting if they were going to decide against the majority.

Howard’s submission was in support of the refund, but he said his concern with the council’s decision wasn’t “sour grapes”.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council decided not to refund Pukehina residents the rates they had paid for a sewerage scheme that won't be built in the next 10 years. Photo / Alex Cairns

The council shouldn’t have bothered with consultation if they were not going to listen to what most people wanted, he said.

“It’s a waste of money.

“If you don’t want to go with the majority, why? It’s not a dictatorship.”

Howard said he wanted the council to publicise its decision about the rate because he had to ring the council to find out about it.

A lot of other people in the beachside township were not aware of the outcome either, he said.

Council policy and planning manager Matthew Leighton said community engagement was an essential part of decision-making.

“Hearing from as many different voices as possible helps councillors weigh options and make more informed decisions.”

Community feedback was one of a range of considerations for council decision-making, alongside other additional information and considerations, such as technical and legal advice, he said.

“When considering community feedback, it is not just the numbers councillors consider, but the reasons and rationale presented.”

The council has published its 2024-34 long-term plan decision document on its website.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.