Selwyn votes no to consultation, recommits millions to underfunded transport plan

Monday, 18 November 2024

The Selwyn District Council headquaters in Rolleston. (File photo)

Selwyn councillors decided residents will not get a say on next year’s annual plan following an impassioned plea for elected members to listen to the community.

Former councillor and current Rolleston Residents’ Association chairperson Mark Alexander called on the council to act morally as elected members considered last week whether the annual plan needed to be taken to the community for feedback.

Alexander said his group was concerned about rate rises that were pricing some people out of the district.

Mark Alexander, chairperson of the Rolleston Residents’ Association, stands outside the Selwyn District Council's chambers.

The average ratepayer in Selwyn will pay about $1600 more in annual rates in three years if the council’s forecasted increase of 48% goes ahead.

In 10 years, the average ratepayer could expect a 123% increase - or about $4218 - for an average annual rate of $7644.

The council consulted the community during the last long-term plan process earlier this year, but due to the rates increase and the lack of Government co-funding secured for transport budgets, Alexander implored the council for another consultation process.

“With all due respect, I would remind council that these funds are rates funded, paid for by ratepayers, and many ratepayers expect that they should be consulted on the reallocation of these funds.”

He said he understood there was no legal requirement to consult, and it would be easier for council staff to forge ahead, but councillors and council staff were not there to have easy jobs.

“The budget doesn’t belong to staff, it doesn’t even belong to you, it belongs to our community and they, no we, deserve another opportunity to confirm or change it.”

But the majority of elected members - bar councillors Grant Miller and Lydia Gliddon - voted not to consult the public.

Instead they would “engage and inform” the public of any changes made, such as to transport budgets.

Audit New Zealand said in August the council was at “high risk” of not delivering on its promised projects, and in September NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) declined to provide the $31.29m needed to complete all the projects Selwyn had promised in this year’s plan.

Miller and Gliddon said local funds - about $25.9m - for projects that missed out on NZTA funding should be put back into the council’s pocket for other things, or Selwyn should reduce its share of funding for transport projects, so future rates rises could be reduced.

Selwyn Councillor Grant Miller speaks out against transport budgets. (File photo)

Mayor Sam Broughton said there was robust debate over the long-term plan, and now the council needed to deliver what it could.

“I would rather see us completed what we told our community we would complete.“

Selwyn councillor Lydia Gliddon is concerned by the rates burden on the community.

Using the funding provided, the council could complete 95% of its revised $77.9m operational transport budget, which included pothole prevention footpath and cycle path maintenance, and bridge renewals.

For its $58.6m transport improvement budget, only two projects chosen by NZTA - the Walker and Two Chain roads roundabout and the Jones and Two Chain roads realignment - would be completed. The council would do design work for another 33 projects so they were ready for when more funding was possible.

All councillors - bar Elizabeth Mundt, Miller and Glidden - voted in favour of retaining the current transport budgets.