Long term planning not all smooth sailing in Upper Hutt
Friday, 17 May 2024
Upper Hutt City Council’s draft long term planning is proving to be a lively affair, featuring mistakes, a petition and a complaint to the Ombudsman.
The city council is blocking residents from commenting on the page announcing mistakes in the plan.
“We’ve turned off comments on this post as we don’t believe they will be helpful to the consultation process at this time.”
That has frustrated resident Paul Fabian, who has organised a petition opposing a proposed rates increase of 19.23% for each of the next three years.
Fabian has complained to the Ombudsman, alleging a lack of transparency in the council’s consultation process.
He claims the council is refusing to engage with him and is reluctant to answer questions on its long term plan.
Social media pages suggest there is widespread angst in the community about the size of the rate increase.
Former councillor and mayoral candidate Angela McLeod said the political climate in the city was unlike anything she had seen before. Residents were angry at the level of the proposed rate increase and what they believed was flawed consultation.
Responding by turning off engagement on social media was “not a good look” for the council, she said.
“It will lead to a lack of engagement.”
Mayor Wayne Guppy denied there was angst in the community, although he said an increased level of engagement reflected concerns about the affordability of the rate increases.
The problem of affordability was not confined to Upper Hutt and he said the issue was a hot topic nationwide.
Because of the size of the rate increase, the council had gone out of its way to get its message out, he said.
“Personally, I have been to 15 different venues from Brewtown to the railway station.”
Fabian said the council was no longer engaging with him and was not answering his questions about the draft plan.
“I have just been stonewalled, shut down. They said they ‘don’t have the time and the staff to respond’.”
He said the draft plan is too complex for most people to understand.
“I told councillors that what they had put in their booklet (draft plan) was too hard to understand and you would have to be an accountant to digest it.”
He has complained to the Ombudsman over what he alleged was a lack of transparency.
Council chief executive Geoff Swainson said the councils had “followed a robust consultation process” and the number of submissions and feedback received to date showed that residents were willing and able to engage with the council.
The decision to turn comments off the page announcing mistakes in the draft plan ensured all new or replacement submissions could be logged and considered appropriately.
“This was also in response to the extent with which staff (with minimal capacity available) have had to moderate comments to curb misinformation and inappropriate comments.”
Former councillor Paul Lambert also said there was more anger than normal being directed at council.
“There is angst out there and I am hearing from people on fixed incomes wondering how they will pay their rates.”
He said the council and its elected members had done a poor job informing people of the issues facing the council, especially around the reason for the massive rate increase.
As a result, some residents had reacted with anger and taken to social media to vent their frustration.
Earlier this month, Swainson admitted that putting out a draft long term plan with mistakes in it damaged the credibility of the council.
Rowena Simpkins was one many locals who took to social media agreeing.
“The whole submission process has been badly run. Incorrect information in the booklet, too many attachments online to wade through or too technical for many people to fully understand.”