Home > Archives > 21st March 2016 Issue > Your Questions Answered - A road sealing policy is in the making
MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Your Questions Answered - A road sealing policy is in the makingCouncil receives requests from time to time to seal metal roads. We rarely do so.
Roads cost a lot to seal – around $500,000 per kilometre. The New Zealand Transport Agency used to provide a subsidy to assist with such work. They no longer do so. At times developers provide funding to Council to assist towards the road sealing cost, should a Council road pass by their development. This has occurred in Estuary Drive, Mangawhai. This road is currently being prepared for sealing. Other developers provide funding to the Council by way of Roading Development Contribution charges to assist towards road sealing costs. Interestingly, sealed roads cost more to maintain over the longer term than metal roads. Once a road is sealed however, the New Zealand Transport Agency provides a subsidy to Council to help fund such maintenance. The Council has not had a clear policy on what its position is, should property owners wish to have the road outside their place sealed. We have generally simply said no. However, some property owners have offered to contribute to the cost of such capital works. Thus, Council’s response needs to be clearer. At the Council meeting in Mangawhai this week Commissioners will consider a policy that says if a property owner, or a collection of property owners, wish to have a Council road part sealed, Council will organise the sealing if the property owners raise the capital cost required – in other words $500,000 plus GST per kilometre. Once sealed, it is proposed that Council will maintain the road. Dealing with myths Some stories circulated on social media by those who seek the demise of the Council have little foundation. While most residents of Kaipara recognise this, a proportion of the population will believe them. I want to address a few of these. * Kaipara District Council is insolvent. Wrong. Council pays its bills on time. Its income more than covers its operating expenses. Moreover, it is paying down its debt, unlike many councils in New Zealand. * Kaipara District Council’s debt is over $100 million. Wrong. The Council’s external debt has moved down from a high point of around $80 million in 2012 to approximately $74 million today. * Kaipara District Council’s debt is unsustainable. Wrong. Kaipara District Council has healthy debt ratios that are improving all the time. Importantly, they are under the benchmarks that the Local Government Funding Agency sets for lending to Council’s. This Agency is an important assessor of Council balance sheets. * Kaipara District Council is only surviving because it has the backing of the Government. Wrong. Council does not rely on Government to fund its operations or to guarantee bank debt. * Kaipara District Council cannot afford to pay interest on debt to its banks. Wrong. The Council pays all interest due to its banks, on time and in full. * Commissioners have stolen the Mangawhai Endowment Fund. Wrong. The Endowment Fund has a reserve balance of $5.7 million. Grants to community groups are made from this fund every year. * Commissioners are being paid $1 million dollars per year. Wrong. Last year the remuneration paid to the three Commissioners totalled $310,413. Many of the myths are repeated time and time again, and I do not expect that my responses will cause those who promote them to cease doing so. But it is important that the facts are put before you. If you have questions on these or other matters, please email me, jrobertson@kaipara.co.nz |