Rangitīkei District Council under financial strain, new chief executive Kevin Ross says

Kevin Ross has permanently taken on the chief executive role at Rangitīkei District Council. Photo / NZME

Roading woes and water infrastructure are front of mind for Rangitīkei District Council’s newly appointed chief executive.

Kevin Ross said when he took on the interim role of chief executive earlier this year, he was at a stage in his career where he certainly was not looking for any fulltime employment. He retired as chief executive of Whanganui District Council in 2015.

“To be fair, since I’ve been here, I’ve enjoyed it a lot more than what I thought I would. It’s a nice council and there’s some really good staff.”

After the offer came from Whanganui Mayor Andy Watson, he decided to take on the position permanently.

Ross said “without a doubt”, central government needed to engage more with funding for local government. Current work around the council’s Long Term Plan was “difficult, but exciting”.

“We’re working hard to keep any increases down, but the practicalities are that doing business as usual is costing us more.”

Alternative funding for road networks needed to be secured, he said.

“For a council like Rangitīkei’s, it’s got [a large] roading network, and that’s an issue.

“Especially with forestry and the other demands that have been put on them. And here, we do have State Highway 1 and the main trunk rail line running through them, so they’re key [aspects of] infrastructure that have to be kept up in the national interest.”

Smaller councils were feeling it, but for councils across the board, there was a major input of finances needed, and the debt could not fall only on local ratepayers, Ross said.

The council was also facing uncertainty around the repealing of Three Waters entities by the new Government.

“We do have upgrades of the [water infrastructure] system, particularly in Marton, that are currently being undertaken, so they do add to capital expenditure and debt.”

Money for water infrastructure needed to be looked at as opposed to staying on the council’s balance sheet, he said.

“Every council is getting into the stage where it’s unaffordable.”

Since retiring from Whanganui District Council, Ross had kept busy through work at Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa and Tararua District Council.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.