Emergency responses leave Gore District Council with a deficit

Wednesday, 10 June 2020

Residents from the Gore District said they were happy with the council's response to the floods in early-February. Caldwell Contracting staff Charlie Craig, left, and Bruce O’Reilly using an umbilical pump to pump water out of Oxford Street and back over the stock bank towards Mataura River after it overflowed due to heavy rains earlier this year.

Two emergency responses within two months have left Gore District Council with a deficit, but residents say they're more satisfied with the council's performance than before.

A memo to councillors outlined that depreciation, insurance premiums and flooding maintenance and response expenses meant the Council was $1.3 million behind budget by the end of May.

The majority of the deficit relates to the timing of the roading NZ Transport Agency subsidies, the memo says.

It will be carried to the end of the financial year due to the lower than expected contract cost of the Pyramid Bridge replacement, which was finished ahead of schedule.

* Southland flooding aftermath: Minister to assess damage, civil defence reaching out

* Mop up operations begin in Gore

* Pyramid Bridge replacement 'miles ahead of schedule'

A total of $867, 000 had been allocated to departments as a mixture of response, operational and capital expenses related to the February flooding.

The council is in talks with the National Emergency Management Agency to recover costs and is awaiting funding approvals from the NZ Transport Agency and insurance agencies.

The results of this year's resident's survey were presented to councillors on Tuesday, showing that satisfaction levels rose from 37 percent to 46 percent, while those dissatisfied dropped by 5 percent to 22 percent.

Communications and marketing manager Sonia Gerken said the lockdown had cut the survey short, but council staff were able to gather feedback from 556 random respondents online and over the phone.

“It would be fair to say the ouvea premix issue dominated people’s responses,” Gerken said. “Of those who were dissatisfied with the council, 31 people cited the Mataura paper mill and dross issue.”

Gore District residents suggested future developments should not be built in flood plains.

Other issues raised by residents included roading, water, wastewater and stormwater, and footpaths.

Gerken said council expenditure and rates, which historically ranked highly as a priority issue for residents, fell to sixth place.

The Gore Residents' Survey was conducted in May and June in previous years, but was brought forward to what was expected to be a slower time for the council in 2020.

“Given we had flooding in February and a pandemic that hit in March, our assumption the start of the year was quieter couldn’t have been further from the truth,” Gerken said.

The situation did prove to be somewhat advantageous, she said, as staff were able to ask about a “hot topic”: the council's flood response.

Gerken said residents were happy with Gore District Council's actions.

“Comments show the majority of respondents felt well-informed and had a high degree of trust in the council’s messaging and actions,” she said.

Residents of Gore, Mataura, Mandeville, Waikaka, Pukerau and surrounding areas also had a chance to comment on a draft spacial plan recently.

Residents asked for more investment in outdoor and recreational facilities, along with upgrades to current infrastructure.