Debt’s the word for council candidates
Debt was the word on everyone’s lips at a Hamilton City Council candidates’ debate at Waikato University.
New council candidates are focusing on the money Hamilton City doesn’t have in the lead-up to the elections, but incumbents say it’s on the right track.
Despite a two-minute time limit on speeches at a debate organised by the Waikato Student Union last night, many candidates made time for debt.
Attendance at the meeting was low, around 50, with candidates making up most of the numbers.
Mayoral candidate Tony Dixon called for “public money spenders” to be reined in, and highlighted his background in the finance and insurance sector.
“We have to focus on the repayment of debt so the future generations are not lumbered with paying for our excesses.”
He said city debt would be at over $400m until at least 2022, and the councillors seemed to lack financial understanding of the situation.
“A debt reduction plan may mean there is less money available to the council but we would also no longer be borrowing to fund the non-essentials.”
There was a similar message from the New Council – New Direction team, which is campaigning on an offer of better value to Hamilton voters.
One of its candidates, Basil Wood, pointed to “excessive spending” and “organisational inefficiency,” and said interest on the city debt amounted to almost 20 per cent of rates revenue.
He called for the next council to sell commercial assets which weren’t performing, and focus on efficient core services.
The group’s views were echoed by former Price Waterhouse Coopers partner Rob Pascoe, standing for the East Ward.
He said the council had an annual accounting deficit, and “dumb debt.”
“It provides no long-term benefits and needs to be repaid from future services. Careful and difficult decisions requiring professional skills will be required by the new council to turn this around.”
But members of the current council said the books were already well on their way to being balanced.
Cr Ewan Wilson called for a balance between growth, rates, and debt, and said candidates were “repeating a mantra of debt”.
“The reality, in the last three years, we’ve changed the direction of the ship. We’ve trimmed over $400 million in our cap ex, we’ve trimmed $15 million off our operating budget annually for the next three years, and this council will balance its book in 2017.”
Mayor Julie Hardaker agreed, and said the Auditor General had described Hamilton’s current financial plan as one of the best in New Zealand.
“We’ve got systems and processes in place that we should have in place, that the last council and the time before never had in place. So I’m very comfortable about where we’re at now… but there’s still a lot to be done.”
