The Tauranga City Council's operational income has increased by 74 per cent since 2001, from $73.365m to $127.743m.
Over the same period rates collection has gone up 54 per cent from $46.666m to $72.318m. The difference is made up with user pays fees.

This is the fourth article in the SunLive series which is providing Tauranga City Council candidates the opportunity to directly and succinctly state their views on some of the city's major issues. Below the article are links to the candidate responses categorised by the constituency they are contesting.

The city's population has increased by 20 per cent over the same period from 88,000 to 106,000. The Statistics NZ estimate for 2009 is 112,500.
Since 2001, rateable properties have increased by 15 per cent from 42,900 to 49,494 private dwellings.

The question raised by David Hanger on his blog Upstairs Downtown, is how does the cost of running Tauranga city increase 74 per cent in seven years when population has increased 20 per cent and buildings 15 per cent over the same period?

In 1996 there were 20,712 owner occupied homes and 7812 rentals
In 2001 there were 22,536 owner occupied homes, and 10, 842 rentals.
In 2006 there were 19,269 owner occupied houses and 12,468 rentals plus 6000 trust owned houses.

The number of ratepayers is decreasing, while their bills are increasing.

As in any organisation, a major, if not the largest, cost is labour. As of September, Tauranga City Council had 473 FTEs Full Time Equivalents. The city is running with 33 fewer staff than budgeted for this year, but has added 16 new FTEs with the takeover of the inspection business CGAF Ltd.
The only employee of the councillors is the chief executive, who in turn is the employer of the remaining council staff.
With the resignation of Stephen Town, there is an opportunity for elected councillors to appoint a chief executive with a fresh perspective and be in a position to review the current council's structures.

Mayor

Bill Faulkner
Previous council spending priorities in preference to basic infrastructure: 2005 Floods, Southern Pipeline for wastewater, purchase and maintenance of parks & reserves (around $17m). A full description is in the Annual Report available shortly show where the rates money goes. Plus Roading. Ratepayers seem to not favour council reducing services. These are a few reasons. Plus constant ongoing expensive demands from central government, which spends no money even though their own 2007 Shand Report concludes rates are unsustainable. The new CEO appointment is the most critical decision the new council will make. There are no silver bullets without service reductions. CGAF staff are funded through user fees.

Mark Groos
My community survey shows only 3 per cent of you thought an 8 per cent increase in council staff costs during a recession was acceptable. Therefore, 97 per cent of the community do not support our current Mayor, CEO, and councillors' actions. To fix the problem:
DO:
• Set council staff goals and rewards for productivity (more 4 less).
• Hire a CEO focused on analysis, reporting, transparency, listening to the community, and increasing productivity.
• Cap council staff numbers.
• Reduce costs.
DO NOT:
Reward the CEO his full bonus for relentlessly expanding an under employed bureaucracy.
Vote for a mayor and councillors who have allowed costs to escalate.

Hori Leaming
Interesting figures from 1996 show that landlords and trusts have increased while owners decreased. This highlights the fact that developers were given an easy ride for too long coupled with the rates remaining artificially low, all the while the city was growing faster than the rest of New Zealand. End result: Audit New Zealand said increase your rates to manage your debt efficiently or we will – as well as cutt back on services. When a big ugly bloke says jump, don't ask how high – work it out and jump QUICKLY.

Stuart Crosby
Despite article four having eight statistical errors in it, this is a very important issue.
I support the following:
The operating costs of council should be reflected by an effective and efficient staffing/contactor/procurement package that meets the needs for providing for today and planning for the future. I also support the collaboration with other councils to tender goods and services Baywide to drive efficiencies.

Mount Maunganui-Papamoa Ward

David Stewart
As long as we are asked to provide more and better services by our community, and we are required to undertake more consultation and provide more information as a result of government legislation, and required to deal with more rules, regulations, policies and by-laws also as a result of government legislation, plus also provide better standards of wastewater, stormwater, reticulated water, rubbish disposal, recycling, etc. for better resource and environmental management, then our rates are likely to increase more than the rate of inflation and the council is likely to require more staff OR more consultants to do more work.

Wayne Moultrie
The chief executive and staff are to be commended for maintaining a satisfactory level of service despite there being 33 fewer staff than budgeted for this year.
The acquisition of CGAF Ltd. was essential to ensure the continuation of building inspections. No qualified building inspectors meant no inspections, which means less growth and more dissatisfaction.
The chief executive and his team constantly monitor the operation of the city with a view to improving performance and reducing costs.
A new chief executive will have the opportunity of reviewing council's structures and implementing such changes as his experience deems appropriate.

Steve Morris
Same question needs to be asked about council opting for a 30 per cent plus rate rise during recession. Planning for tomorrow and getting debt under control is going to cost, but what ratepayers demand is a council that will set its budget according to the means of its ratepayers. Those on fixed incomes have felt the brunt of the rate rises and once debt is under control we need to get back to focussing on good quality, affordable services.
The next council will be choosing the new CEO, I ask people to consider voting for candidates who will promote financial sustainability.

Otumoetai-Pyes Pa Ward

Mike Baker
It is the goal of all existing councillors to keep rate rises as low as possible, but along the way also provide the levels of service that the community expects in regard to infrastructure, sporting, cultural and recreational requirements along with the multitude of other services council provides.
Past councils, by not installing and maintaining the required core infrastructure, have let the city down and we are now in a catch-up mode resulting in significantly higher operating costs having to be expended now, than in the past.
I am, however, confident that a new council will take the opportunity of employing a new CEO to fully review the current council structures.

Larry Baldock
A new CEO offers the opportunity to review many things. The six figure salaries being paid to council staff must be part of that review starting with the new CEO. These are not sustainable in light of the recession and the burden of debt the city faces. Elected councillors need to be willing to lead by example with their own remuneration.
When elected councillors call for cost savings, but waste ratepayers money by not doing what they are paid to do and come to meetings ill prepared, personally bickering over issues and asking uninformed questions, they are part of the problem. Vote wisely.

Andrew Cass
The appointment of a new CEO is of critical importance. The CEO's role is definitely the most important in the city and as councillors we only have one chance to get this right. I will be looking for someone who is not empire building, and who has the ability to cut to the chase. Much of council process is dictated by Act of Parliament, however, it is the interpretation that makes a success or failure of the business of council. I will be looking for someone who takes a minimalist approach to the business, keeping costs trim, and productivity high. Much of Tauranga's current financial crisis is a result of past planning failure, and unsustainable growth policies and I will be looking for the new CEO's resolutions to these problems.

Nigel Stichbury
To me it makes no difference whether Stephen Town is resigning or not from the perspective of reviewing the structure, competencies and effective outcomes expected from staff. The trend has been apparent for years.
This signals that either the council were indifferent to this situation, or that they had no effective power as employers to seek such reviews.
This issue of an internal operational review is first on my list as one of many key performance indicators which would be presented to all shortlisted applicants for the role over the interview process.
Potential CEOs would have to agree to performance indicators as well as show proven ability to achieve.

Mike Mills
Years of under-rating and an over-reliance on development funding contributions has put the city in ‘catch-up' mode for funding core infrastructure (water, wastewater, stormwater, regional and local roading) and delivering facilities and services commensurate with a growing city. Innovative and long-term funding solutions are critical: borrowing, including Council Bonds; central government partnerships; Public Private Partnerships; CCOs should all be explored. The income from the Port of Tauranga shares that is currently paid out as a regional council rates subsidy should be contributing to infrastructure investment. Same goes for TECT. A prosperous and growing economy will also generate new income.

Catherine Stewart
A new chief executive will bring a fresh perspective and ideas to council.
I promoted an independent review of TCC's core operations.
An independent review was carried out on the library which resulted in suggestions for improved efficiencies and savings. This needs to be carried out on all council activities.

Jane Lyndon
Rental Houses have a rate component built into their rents.
Tauranga is growing so there is not a decrease in people paying rates as such.
New facilities have come on stream that require debt servicing etc. plus the resultant unexpected major works carried out since the May 2005 floods.
Natural disasters can cause havoc with fiscal envelopes! Research tells me that TCC had 423 FTEs which is under accepted criteria per head population. With CGAF Ltd more staff added. With new CEO, new council, a review of council's structures is on cards.
Constant fiscal review and monitoring is needed.

Te Papa-Welcome Bay Ward

Rob Davies
Our city has been plagued by short-term decision-making, perhaps best illustrated by the $440 million we owe and the fact most of it has been borrowed for essential infrastructure. Councillors have failed to plan for today and provide for tomorrow. If we're going to avoid condemning another generation to crippling debt we need to take a long-term view of needs and reform how local government is funded. Currently, we are expected to provide a region's infrastructure on a city's wage using a broken rating system.
With growth forecast to continue and central government expecting ever more from local government there is now a real need for reform.

Jeanette Arnold
Choosing the right CEO is the key task for the new councillors. This will set tone and direction for the next decade with implications beyond. The councillors only direct employee is the CEO. CEOs manage, are financially prudent, employ all other staff. The other key matter for councillors to grasp is the level of staff decision-making delegation (CEO spending limits included). Lowering these delegated thresholds for decision-making might provide sound initial improvements. Review in nine months.
I don't want a ‘slash and burn' CEO with a reorganisation agenda rattling things around without necessarily saving costs. Respectfully making progress is my aim. A CEO must have a solid financial and management background, care for people, rally them to work together as public servants. Any city growing this fast generates periodic cost and staff increases. Keep them under control.

Michael Morris
Start at the top with cutting operating costs. The chief executive (aka town clerk), is overpaid. Those favouring obscene salaries point to equivalent salaries in private enterprise. Leaving aside that these salaries are also overinflated, do we really want someone who is only in it for the money? A council is a service organisation, so we want a town clerk who cares about the city and its people.
The town clerk needs skills in administration, management and finances.
Valuable skills yes; but no more valuable those of any other skilled council engineer, planner or building inspector.

Bill Grainger
Our total operating costs have to be tightened up again. Our CEO Stephen Town mentioned that our levels of service is at its minimum and has advised us that for the benefit of our community it should not be decreased.
I disagree and when we do employ a suitable replacement in his position, I hope the mindset of the new CEO reviews the current council structures, process and procedures and refresh its operational costs to the communities advantage.

Lloyd Davies
To me this is not an issue simply because Stephen Town is leaving. Any credible local body CEO will continuously review whether or not his/her company is getting the best value from the calibre of staff, and the structure to address the work to be done is in place. I understand there have been several structural reviews over the past six years. My perception is that we may not be getting full value for some of the operational investment especially as some services receive fragmented attention with many staff each handling parts of an individual service eg community development, youth services.

At Large

Jonnie Mead
Rates increases are the most talked about issue leading up to the local body elections. I understand that the lack of collective consciousness amongst the existing councillors has incurred huge costs through wasteful start/stop decisions. (I have no proof of this myself). There is no doubt that our city growth demands high rates. The question ‘What value do we get for our rates?' will be a good start and a self-audit approach for the newly elected council. Governance is about the mayor and councillors setting policy and conducting good fiscal process or ‘getting it right'. A new chief executive should make sure council staff ‘do it right' (what they call management!).

Allan Andrews
You have to ask the question: Why are ratepayers saddled with increasing costs year after year? Surely this burden needs to be shared more by the general population in the form of a citizen tax or something similar. One can accept to a certain level the capital value of a property is used to set the rates but when there is just one old lady living alone and next door same capital value has eight adults living there…where's the justice?
I would like to know also how TCC wage percentage budget stacks up against similar organisations.

Tony Christiansen
From information I gathered prior to my decision to offer myself for election as a councillor, I concluded that TCC has been spending ratepayer income as if there is no limit. Each year, projects that are ‘nice' for the city are added to the budgets. Processes that are ideologically driven are added. Price is no object. It's time to stop this upward-spiralling wishlist driven programme. Council must accept that ratepayer funds are finite and start planning to spend only on core services and important infrastructure. Rates must be pegged to current levels and expenditure must be within that income.

David Love
Our highest priority is to recruit the best CEO. Before selection we must redefine the TORs to detail the desired output and performance.
Research shows:
• The number of properties serviced increased by 16.03 per cent in 10 years and inflation by 24.7 per cent forcing the cost of council services to increase by 40.73 per cent. Labour costs increased faster than inflation.
• Council had to assume new responsibilities previously paid by government.
Infrastructure costs pre-date building starts. Ideally, new developments should be self-funded but not at the expense of killing development.
We need tight control of council costs which currently are curtailing expansion.

Tony Young
Some of these increases are beyond the council's control, others are not. One must wonder with highly paid and qualified TCC staff, why the cost of consultant's fees have gone through the roof? The ever increasing staff levels? And the cost of the advertising? with the citizens of Tauranga electing new councillors and those new councillors being able to hire a new CEO we have the chance to employ someone that will be able to address several, if not all of these concerns, and with a common sense approach assess Tauranga's wants versus Tauranga's needs.

Brendan Horan
Interesting question and one that only the current councillors can answer. Here is their opportunity to take responsibility and be accountable, remember many of them have been around since the nineties.
If I blew my business budget like that I'd sack myself, but financial responsibility is no laughing matter. We all deserve answers on this and councillors need to explain why they had no contingency plan or back up funds for natural disasters such as the 2005 flood which they'll probably blame the blowout on.

Sue Hawkins
Appointing a new CEO will provide the opportunity to set a new direction for the next three years and beyond. However, while change is full of opportunities it is almost always loaded with challenges – and this process will require sound governance. We need a sustainable income, rates kept under control, a reliable delivery of essential services and a city that is a vibrant, go-ahead place to live. New councillors will need to come up to speed quickly because the projected rate increases will be unsustainable for thousands of people. Trimming costs and exploring alternative funding options must be priorities.

Richard Moore
The new council will have to look at cutting its own costs. An audit of council staffing and services would be a priority and then we can work out the best way to spend ratepayer dollars. I will be particularly looking at consultancy costs. Staff numbers have doubled in the past 10 years and while a growing city must have sufficient numbers of people to operate it, some staff could be reassigned into areas of higher priority. A new CEO must be hired with a view to more efficiency and councillors must have more say in staffing issues.