hawkesbaycouncilwatch

The Wairoa District Council is to consider yet another rating model to try and get some equity in rate raising .Don’t hold out much hope when this is the 19th model to be tried.  

The Wairoa Star reports that encumbent Mayor,Les Probert wil stand again for Mayor in this years elections. Mr Probert has been on council for 25 years and has served two terms as Mayor. Wairoa may be a small council but it has its share of problems.With a large farming area ,extensive coastal frontage and a small population there will always be a host of issues to stuggle with.

Mr Probert does not believe the present rating system is sustainable for an area such as Wairoa.He is a keen promoter of the Wairoa Economic Development Trust.

Waipawa is talking about celebrations for 150 years in existence.It’s been around for a while then. Why on earth do the Central Hawkes Bay District councillors have to arue about who funds work spent in Waipawa .There is something seriously wrong if after all these years they can’t sort this out.But I suppose people from Waipuk don’t shop in Waipawa and vice versa.

The HB Regional Council is to spend $300,000 of ratepayers money on an urban development study for the plains. The name for a start is enough to raise alarm bells.The last thing the plains area needs is more development.Who is driving this one? It raises questions about the Regional Plan and the Hastings and Napier Councils Plans. If these plans are inadequate for the purpose they were created then the correct process would be a plan change .Why have in place ten year plans with rolling reviews when out of left field comes a study like this.  Maybe it is an admission that the plains have never been dealt with adequately from the start and this will, in some way,set a new scene .The cost will most likely be blown on consultants that will come up with a plan that involves more expenditure.