Andrew von Dadelszen Former Regional Councillor

If you aren't happy about the Regional Council's proposed rate increase (12% this year) then you should take the time to submit. Submissions close April 17.

As a Tauranga resident I get very little for my rates anyway, with our local Western Bay and Tauranga regional councillors continuing to fail to provide local ratepayers with any semblance of value for money.

So what do I get for the $185.92 (2011 figure – expected to rise to around $207 for 2012/13) that I personally pay to the Regional Council in rates? Tauranga City residents get a public bus service (for which I paid this year a targeted rate of $52.96) and a contribution to the management of our harbour (for which very little has been achieved in actual harbour sediment remediation – the big issue for our harbour), and very little else!

The Regional Council spends most of its expenditure on staff salaries (approximately 73%). They employ around 275 staff, spread throughout the region, who mostly spend their time on planning and bureaucracy. Far too few are out there actually improving the environment. In 1999 the Regional Council employed just 159 staff, and by 2004 this number had risen to 206. Today I estimate there are at least 275 - but this could well be conservative because, despite asking the Regional Council Finance Manager for updated figures (one month ago) I still have had no response.

Come on Regional Council – get into the 21^st Century, and stop this bloated bureaucracy. Ratepayers are demanding accountability and your organisation is looking increasingly redundant in the current climate. Local government reform is an absolute must. We have to be able to do things a lot better, and at substantially less cost, and it is up to our regional councillors to stand up and be counted – or close the doors!

If you have a view on these or any other local government issues, I invite you to email me at [email protected]