Bill Townson, chairman of the Northern Action Group, which wants to break away from the Auckland Super City. Photo / Steven McNicholl
Bill Townson, chairman of the Northern Action Group, which wants to break away from the Auckland Super City. Photo / Steven McNicholl
A breakaway council in the northern part of Auckland's Super City would not need to raise rates and could run a healthy surplus, according to an independent study.
The study, commissioned by the Northern Action Group (NAG), contradicts another independent study forecasting a rates hikes of 43 per cent ifthe northern area pulls out of the Super City.
North Rodney is mostly rural, with farming or farm servicing the main industries. The people have never wanted to be a part of or to be ruled by Auckland, and feel they have little in common with its citizens.
They want to create a new council to serve the area from Puhoi to south of Mangawhai Harbour and from Manukapua Island in the Kaipara Harbour to Kawau Island in the east.
The area incorporates Warkworth, Matakana and Wellsford and the upmarket beach houses at Omaha. Its population is estimated to be 25,000.
The area north of Rodney that the Northern Action Group want to break away from the Super City.
The issue is being considered by the Local Government Commission, which commissioned a report from Morrison Low, which shows their rates increase in the first year will be 43 per cent.
NAG commissioned APR Consultants, which chairman Bill Townson said looked at the actual costs of running a unitary council, rather than just extrapolating out the costs of north Rodney which disproved the Morrison Low findings.
"The Morrison Low approach is akin to preparing a business plan for a new shop in Warkworth using the cost structure of Harrods of London, which would be totally inappropriate and undermines its credibility," Townson said.
He said the projected surplus in the APR report could be used for an increase in infrastructure, such as upgrading the road network or a reduction in rates or a bit of both.
It would also ensure closer community scrutiny, transparency in council's activity and avoid waste and inappropriate spending, Townson said.
Townson said NAG will submit the study to the Local Government Commission and ask that they consider our proposal as a "reasonably practicable option" as required by the legislation and include it in their deliberations in determining a "preferred option" for the future.
The full report and all its detail is to be found on the NAG website WWW.NAG.org.NZ.
