Current Southland Amalgamation Proposal Falls Short for Ratepayers
The Gore District Council has expressed concerns about the proposed Southland local government reorganisation initiative following a request for information from the Local Government Commission.
The Council responded to the Local Government Commission Chief Executive Penny Langley last month, citing concerns about the scale and scope of improvements that could be achieved by the reorganisation proposal in its current form, saying it could not achieve a financially viable unit that would result in significant benefits for Gore ratepayers.
The Gore District Council Mayor Ben Bell fully supported the letter.
“This will be a once in a generation decision and needs to be done correctly. From where we are sitting, it’s a case of go big or go home, why waste money tinkering around the edges,” he said.
“The Gore District serves much more than just Southland, with many residents from the Clutha district and further using our services. An amalgamation of this size would only solve half the perceived problem”
The letter said while there was interest from the Council and some early indications of interest from the community about reorganisation, in order to give up the local voice and control that Gore currently has, the proposal would need to demonstrate considerable financial benefits for our ratepayers.
“We do not believe that the current proposal could achieve this. We believe a much bigger proposal needs to be explored, however, the timing of that needs to be considered carefully given all of the government reforms that we are currently grappling with.”
The letter highlighted potential duplication of cost, existing cross-boundary relationships with some Otago councils, including the proposed joint council-controlled organisation, and Gore services including swimming pools and libraries that are used by communities outside the Southland District.
“Given the low population densities in Southland, the population requirements to achieve financial scale, and the existing collaborations beyond Southland, we propose that a much larger amalgamation would be required to justify the considerable cost that an amalgamation would require, noting that the burden of this cost rests with the ratepayers,” it said.
Mayor Bell also identified ongoing work being done outside the Southland region as a complication for potential reorganisation.
“As the only Southland Council willing to work with others on Local Water Done Well, this amalgamation conversation is a distraction. We have spent countless hours reading thousands of pages on the best options for delivering water. In comparison, only 41 pages have been produced on amalgamation with no indication of the cost to ratepayers.” Bell said.
The letter also noted a potential loss of local voice, saying the Gore community is accustomed to expressing their opinion and expects its service to listen and be responsive to local needs. The current setup of Community Boards in Southland would not adequately give Gore ratepayers local control, it said.
Additionally, it said the Gore District Council did not have any additional capacity to contribute staff resource to an investigation, with staff already under pressure as they work through the shared waters entity transition.
“Our finances are already stretched. We account for every single dollar in our budgets, and likewise with our staffing capacity. There are no miscellaneous consultancy budgets we can draw on to assist with undertaking this work.”
It also voiced concerns that the Gore community has already undertaken several back-to-back consultations, from the Long-term Plan, District Plan, Annual Plan and current Waters entity proposal, and warned of the very real risk of consultation fatigue, resulting in a lack of meaningful feedback from the community.
