ES Rates Rise Tipped to Meet Growth

By MORGAN, Jared

A RATES rise is tipped as Environment Southland scrambles to meet its obligations in the face of unprecedented growth across the region.

Councillors signalled yesterday they were prepared to boost the council’s resources and go to stakeholders and ratepayers as part of the annual planning and budgetary process to advocate for the additional money it will cost.

That money will go towards monitoring and managing natural resources, in response to community concern about water quality and allocation, the impacts of dairy expansion and the long-term implications of climate change.

Corporate services director Graham Alsweiler said employing more staff to provide the higher level of monitoring, compliance, planning and support, would require the council to up its total rate take by about $1.33 million on last year.

This would boost the rates of a high-value Southland farm by an average $220 a year. An urban property would pay about $20 a year more in Environment Southland rates.

Environment Southland chairman Stuart Collie told the ordinary meeting of the council that land use change and general economic activity, and its impact on the environment, had accelerated to a level beyond what the council could have anticipated or planned for.

“It’s caught up on us in a way we couldn’t possibly have imagined a year ago,” he said.

“We need to upgrade the way we operate — which ultimately means more people and more money.” Community demand for information about water quality and water use showed the concerns people had and the council needed to be seen to be ahead of any problems rather than responsive after the event, Mr Collie said.

Cs Diane Wilson and Ali Timms said there had been a lot of public comment following media reports about several Southland Rivers with unsafe levels of the bacteria E-coli.

“People are expecting us to be more proactive and that is because we are not resourced enough to deal with the issues at present,” Cr Wilson said.

“It’s bite-the-bullet time. I think it’s time to front up and that’s going to cost more money,” Cr Timms said.

Mr Collie said council projections in the Long Term Council Community Plan for 2008 and 2009 were woefully inadequate and a re- think was needed.

The Draft Annual Plan will be released for public consultation on March 26, and councillors have signalled their intention to talk extensively to stakeholder groups in a beefed-up public consultation process.jared.morgan@stl.co.nz

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