Town still waits for flood projects' bill

The cleanup has started in Matata. Picture / Alan Gibson

The cleanup at Matata has begun, but ratepayers still have no idea how much they will have to pay for a dam and other projects to restore the town.

Whakatane District Council is considering its contribution to the projects - the total cost of which has been estimated at $9 million.

The options include having Matata ratepayers pay the whole bill, splitting it equally between town and district, or spreading it across the district.

A council meeting yesterday failed to provide the answer many Matata residents want to hear - that the bill will be spread across the district.

Whakatane Mayor Colin Holmes said a policy for the future had to be developed before a decision was made.

That policy would provide guidelines on funding for building, maintaining and operating mitigation works when natural disasters occurred, or for retreating from them.

His motion was supported by a majority, although three councillors voted against it.

Councillor Linda Hudson said Matata ratepayers had suffered months of uncertainty and needed to know what they might have to pay.

"It's about time we made a decision ... It's about figures, not policies."

Ms Hudson said the district should share the cost.

"The people of Matata are part of our community and we have to look to the future when it might be us that are going to have a disaster."

Her words were echoed by Matata residents at the meeting.

Bryan Bourke said the rebuilding projects would benefit not just Matata, but the wider area. A dam to protect properties in the Awatarariki Stream catchment area would also protect vital infrastructure for the district, including State Highway 2 and the East Coast's main trunk railway line.

"All commerce coming into the Eastern Bay of Plenty comes through Matata," he said.

Councillor Jean Eivers said ratepayers in the wider region were also concerned about their potential bill.

They were not necessarily averse to paying for the Matata projects, but wanted to know how much they would have to contribute and what for.

She suggested consultation meetings across the district.

Under the Local Government Act 2002, the council must consider the impact of funding decisions on "the current and future social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of the community".

The Government this week promised $3 million, or one-third of the capital costs for the rebuilding projects, to the council.

But council estimates show there would still be a substantial burden on Matata ratepayers, particularly if they had to pay full building and maintenance costs of the projects.

The Awatarariki dam, to which the council plans to contribute $3.5 million, is one example.

Building the dam with targeted rates on the 57 properties in the catchment area would create an annual bill of $7962 per ratepayer.

If the cost were divided among all of Matata's 357 ratepayers, the bill would be $1271 per ratepayer.

Spread across the district, it would drop to $34. These estimates do not include ongoing operating and maintenance costs for the dam.

While uncertainty remains about rates, property owners in the Awatarariki area were delighted when the cleanup got under way this week, seven months after the disaster which left many of them homeless.

"It's a great Christmas present," said Rob Pearce, whose beachfront property was deluged with rivers of mud, logs and boulders.

Diggers yesterday cut tracks through the sea of debris - 5m high in places - with the aim of getting contractors in to restore power, water and electricity to partially damaged homes in the new year.

"We're a lot happier," said Mr Pearce.