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Council embarks on seal extension
Over the next three years the Far North District Council plans to add new seal to at least 42 kilometres of road as part of a new initiative to reduce the length of metal roads across the district.
The seal extension programme is part of a three-pronged attack on the district's 1780 kilometres of unsealed roads, and comes in response to community concerns over dust and safety issues raised during the Future Plan submission process.
This year the programme will provide 11.6 kilometres of additional seal. A further 15.9 kilometres are scheduled for sealing in 2007/08 and 18.9 kilometres in 2008/09.
In addition the Council has stepped up funding under the Public Facilities Seal programme to accelerate the sealing of short sections (up to 500 metres) of road adjoining marae, halls, churches, schools and other public facilities such as cemeteries. A budget of $339,000 a year has been committed to tackle three projects a year for the next three years.
The short-seal programme has also been extended with an additional $161,000 allocated specifically to seal minor lengths of road adjoining pockets of close residential settlement where there are health and safety issues or where left unsealed the road may create a maintenance anomaly.
The public facilities seal programmes will apply to small sections of road which may not qualify for subsidy under the Land Transport NZ programme but which have a significant level of public benefit because of health and safety issues or traffic densities.
Roading & Drainage Manager Greg Ingham said public facilities sealing would start as soon as priorities had been set. Priorities for sealing outside marae would be discussed with the Maori community.
"We want to get on with these projects as quickly as possible, and if agreement cannot be reached on marae priorities a decision will be made by the Transport & Utilities Committee when it sets the priorities for all other projects under the Public Facilities vote," he said.
A draft three-year programme has been developed based on community feedback and engineering assessments. Roads tentatively selected this year under the $161,000 short-seal vote are Manning and De Thierry Streets at Rawene, Rauto Road at Whangaroa and sections of Sandys and Otaha Roads.
Few aware of rates rebate
The Far North has registered just 23 applications for the Government Rates Rebate Scheme, so far this year.
Kerikeri Community Board member Jill Smith said this week she thought many Far North ratepayers were unaware of the scheme.
"The more poeple that know about it the better. Community Board members and council staff are happy to help with applications. People should apply if they are eligible. The funding is currently there for it."
The Scheme's purpose is to provide a subsidy to low income home owners and ratepayers on the cost of their rates.
The rates rebate scheme has existed in New Zealand since 1973 but its effectiveness was eroded by inflation. In recent years rocketing property prices have impacted on the rates of many people on low and fixed incomes, particularl senior citizens.
From July next year the maximum rebate available under the rates rebate scheme will rise from $200 to $500.
The income threshold under which people will become eligible for a full rebate is to increase from $7,400 to $20,000. The additional income allowance for dependants is also to increase from $156 to $500 per dependant.
The Government has estimated that nationwide up to 300,000 ratepayers could be eligible for rebates.
A single person receiving $16,645 in superannuation a year in 2006 will be eligible for a full rebate of $500 if their rates bill is over $1,000. A superannuitant couple receiving $25, 276 in superannuation a year in 2006, will be eligible for a rebate of $234 if the rates bill for their home is $1500.
While the cost of the new scheme will depend on the take up of it by eligible people, the government has budgeted $50million a year to implement the policy.
Application forms, provided by the Department of Internal Affairs, are available from the Far North District Council.
Applicants who are eligible for a rates rebate are granted their rebate by the council. They then either have their rates reduced by the amount of the rebate or receive a cash payment if they have already paid their rates. The Department reimburses councils from Crown funds allocated specifically to the Rates Rebate Scheme.
A ratepayer may also apply for rates rebates for previous rating years. However, it is necessary to provide satisfactory evidence of income for the previous income periods.
Eligibility for a rates rebate is determined by the ratepayer's income for the tax year preceding the start of the rating year, the amount of rates and the number of dependants. The Bay Chronicle
Milestone for District Plan Decisions on submissions on the financial contributions section of the Proposed Far North District Plan were released this week, marking a milestone in the new District Plan process.
Strong growth for Far North Holdings The Far North Holdings Group reports record growth in the value of its investments for the 2004-05 financial year.
More Council help for The Centre at Kerikeri
The Far North District Council is to extend its bank guarantee by $400,000 to complete construction of The Centre at Kerikeri.
The $7.5 million arts and conference facility was officially opened by Prime Minister Helen Clark last month.
In 2003 a Memorandum of Understanding was entered into between the council and the Kerikeri Civic Trust, to enable construction to proceed. The memorandum provided for the council to underwrite a bank loan of up to $1.5 million, to be repaid as part of the trust's ongoing fund-raising programme.
Far North Mayor Yvonne Sharp said this week the extension of the guarantee was only for a further six months.
At the end of this period it was anticipated that portion of the bank loan would have been repaid by the trust. The decision extended the underwriting to $1.9 million, but did not change the amount to be secured by rate which remained at a maximum of $500,000.
She said on a project of this scale it was inevitable that there were going to be some unforeseen costs. However the Council was satisfied the trust had more than sufficient funds coming in over the next few months to meet its commitments, and the extension of the bank guarantee would help the trust until these funds become available.
FNDC pursues water debtors
The Far North District Council is pressing ahead with the legal processes required to recover debts of over $1 million related to unpaid water accounts.
Transactions Services Manager Chris Ellington said legal action and debt recovery procedures had either already been initiated, or would be initiated over the next few weeks, for debts approaching $500,000.
"By the end of June we expect to have the majority of the arrears under legal action, or at least going through the statutory processes leading to legal action," he said.
Notices of court proceedings had been issued this week with respect to 182 overdue accounts and a further 240 notices would be issued before the end of the month. Once these notices were issued, people only had 10 days in which to settle the outstanding account in full.
"If the account is still not paid, the next step is to file the notice with the court. At that point people will be faced with court costs of around $600. It also means the matter is out of the Council's hands and there are no further opportunities for people to negotiate payment by instalments," he said.
Mr Ellington said that earlier this year the arrears on the water account had reached over $1.3 million and was climbing. The possibility of the Council restricting water supplies had resulted in a considerable reduction in the total debt, but in recent weeks the debt had started to climb again.
"We really don?t have a choice but to start legal debt recovery processes," he said.
Since February, $195,000 had been paid off outstanding accounts. Payment arrangements had been made for a further $122,000, and a further $38,000 was currently under mortgagee demand. Rating sales were also pending on a number of outstanding accounts.
The notices of proceedings that were currently being issued involved debts totalling about $350,000.
"The Council is still actively pursuing the option of introducing restrictions to the water supplies to the properties with outstanding debts. A revised by-law will be introduced over the next few weeks to give the Council an improved ability to use this facility to encourage payments," Mr Ellington said.
The new by-law was expected to overcome some of the difficulties the Council had previously been facing. The Bay Chronicle
Coastal properties will be hit by rates hike
The Far North District Council's Draft Annual Plan for the 2005/2006 financial year and proposed amendments to the Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) were released for public consultation this week
The draft annual plan calls for a year of financial consolidation and proposes a median 4 percent general rate rise for residential properties.
Coastal areas, particularly in the Eastern Ward, where valuations have increased disproportionately, can expect higher increases than the median while properties in the Western and Northern Wards will see little change over last year and may even notice slight reductions.
Changes are being introduced to the council's Financial Contributions policy to shift the level of developer contributions by a third from 60 percent to 80 percent of projected costs. These "costs" are calculated on a complex formula which takes into account projected additional costs the development will create in areas such as roading, street lighting, water, sewage, reserve contributions and a contribution towards the expansion of community amenities.
An abbreviated document, highlighting key issues in the proposed LTCCP and annual plan, has been mailed out to all ratepayers and the full document is available at service centres, libraries and on the FNDC website, www.fndc.govt.nz
A key issue flagged for public submission is a proposal to implement a $60 to $100 per year charge on private on-site effluent disposal systems in 2006. In return the FNDC will pay to have all septic tanks cleaned out and inspected once every three years.
The council says a survey in 2002-3 showed that 90 percent of effluent discharges found in stormwater samples could be traced to lack of maintenance of effluent disposal systems. After cleaning took place, samples showed a significant drop in the e coli/faecal coli form count.
New initiatives detailed in the draft plan include a proposed discount for early payment of rates, proposals to assist smaller communities beautify their towns, a change in funding systems to ease the load on communities with major development projects, and investigations into roading initiatives to encourage economic and social development.
The draft plan is open to public submission and comment until April 15.
Public meetings will be held at Kaitaia on March 29, Kaikohe on March 30 and Kawakawa on April 5.
Asked why a meeting has not been scheduled for Kerikeri, the district's fastest growing area, FNDC spokesman Rick McCall said, "Last year, because we were setting in place the broad foundations for the LTTCP and needed to get as much community involvement as possible, we had meetings at six or seven venues. This year, particularly as the proposed amendments to the LTCCP are generally minor in nature, and because this year a 28 or 30 page summary is being mailed directly to every ratepayer, it was decided that one public meeting in each Ward should suffice. Because it is not cost effective (and very difficult to schedule within a relatively tight timeframe) to have meetings at every urban centre every year, and because it has been several years since Kawakawa was a venue, it was decided that Kawakawa was the appropriate venue for the Eastern Ward meeting this year."
Mr McCall added, "The council is very much in a no-win situation when it comes to venues - in the past when we traditionally had meetings at Kerikeri we were criticised for ignoring Paihia, Russell, Kaeo and Kawakawa." The Bay Chronicle
Plan released for comment
The Far North District Council's Draft Annual Plan for the 2005/2006 financial year and proposed amendments to the Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) will be released for public consultation on March 15.
The plan calls for a year of financial consolidation with new initiatives designed to streamline and improve the way in which the Council operates.
The Council has broken from the traditional format in the way in which the documents are presented to make it easier for ratepayers to read and understand, and to encourage a higher level of public participation and input before the budget and proposed changes are finally adopted in June.
An abbreviated document has been produced to highlight key issues and areas of change, which will be mailed out to all ratepayers in mid March.
The full document will also be made available on the Council's website, with hard copies available at service centres and libraries.
Corporate Financial Services Manager Ian Sivyer says particular emphasis has been placed on encouraging community feedback and involvement, to ensure that the first formal LTCCP for 2006 - 2016 accurately reflects community aspirations.
"Last year we produced a LTCCP for 2004 - 2014 and this year we have the opportunity to make further changes and improvements before the next plan is introduced in 2006," he says.
Two key issues have been flagged for public submission in the draft documents- water debt recovery policies and a proposal to implement a targeted charge on private effluent disposal systems in the 2006/2007 financial year.
New initiatives detailed in the draft plan include a proposed discount for early payment of rates, proposals to assist smaller communities beautify their towns, a change in funding systems to ease the load on communities with major development projects, and investigations into roading initiatives to encourage economic and social development.
"The draft plan will be open to public submission and comment until April 15. Public meetings will be held at Kaitaia on March 29, Kaikohe on March 30 and Kawakawa on April 5. Asked why a meeting is not scheduled for Kerikeri, the district's fastest growing area, FNDC spokesman Rick McCall said, "Last year, because we were setting in place the broad foundations for the LTTCP and needed to get as much community involvement as possible, we had meetings at six or seven venues. This year, particularly as the proposed amendments to the LTCCP are generally minor in nature, and because this year a 28 or 30 page summary is being mailed directly to every ratepayer, it was decided that one public meeting in each Ward should suffice. Because it is not cost effective (and very difficult to schedule within a relatively tight timeframe) to have meetings at every urban centre every year, and because it has been several years since Kawakawa was a venue, it was decided that Kawakawa was the appropriate venue for the Eastern Ward meeting this year."
Annual Plan-type public meetings have historically not been well supported, unless there is a major issue to bring people out. Mr McCall added, "The council is very much in a no-win situation when it comes to venues - in the past when we traditionally had meetings at Kerikeri we were criticised for ignoring Paihia, Russell, Kaeo and Kawakawa." see www.fndc.govt.nz The Bay Chronicle
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