Following on from my article about the Christchurch City Council's strategic, well-founded and responsible decision to stop wasting ratepayers' money on the questionable benefits of their over-the-top expensive Local Government Association membership, I have sent the following email to the Mayor and all Councillors of Masterton District Council, where I'm a ratepayer:
"Dear Councillor
"Given the current cost of living crisis, I believe strongly that you should initiate a public discussion over this direction of ratepayer funds:
"CCC Exits LGNZ: Should Other Councils Follow Suit? Is It Just A Junket-Fest for Ambitious Councillors?
https://www.thecustomer.co.nz/chch-city-council-exits-lgnz-what-value-are-ratepayers-of-other-lgas-deriving
As a ratepayer of Masterton District Council, I look forward to your response."
ONE Councillor has had the decency to respond thus far, indicating his willingness to meet and discuss the topic.
I'm keen to know his stance, and then to investigate the matter as it applies to other councils around New Zealand.
So stay tuned on this one. If the Mayor or any of the other Councilors bother to respond (so far no others have even acknowledged my email), I'll let you know. FYI, if you're a local Masterton ratepayer, here are the Councilors I reached out to, and the response or lack thereof:
Gary Caffell (Mayor): Brief email received, containing no useful information. Further information sought by me. No response as yet. (See below.)
Bex Johnson (Deputy Mayor): No acknowledgement.
Marama Tuuta (Whakaoriori Masterton Māori Ward Councillor): No acknowledgement.
Craig Bowyer (Whakaoriori Masterton General Ward Councillor):
No acknowledgement.
Tim Nelson (Whakaoriori Masterton General Ward Councillor):
Immediate response by email; phone interview scheduled for next week. (NB: This Councilor shouldn't be the exception. He should be the rule.)
Tom Hullena (Whakaoriori Masterton General Ward Councillor):
No acknowledgement.
Stella Lennox (At Large Councillor): No acknowledgement.
David Holmes (At Large Councilor):
No acknowledgement.
Brent Goodwin (At Large Councilor): No acknowledgement.
Look, our rates are at
phenomenal
levels, and we ratepayers deserve to know that they're being wisely spent, and not funneled quietly off into funding councillors' national networking junkets and associated travel pleasures, and their own personal ambitions.
Email exchange with Mayor. Mayor's reply awaited:
From: Gary Caffell <garyc@mstn.govt.nz>
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2024 2:24 PM
To: Yours Truly
Subject: RE: CCC Exits LGNZ; Should MDC Follow Suit?
Hi Jordan…….Masterton District Council remains a paid member of LGNZ at this stage - although our costs are nowhere near as high as those reported in the link you sent me. We currently do see value in our membership with LGNZ, however this decision is revisited annually to ensure the insights and advice they provide remain of value to our council and the communities we support.
Nga mihi
GARY CAFFELL
Mayor
Masterton / Whakaoriori
My response (by immediate return email):
Thanks for your response, Mr Mayor.
Would you kindly provide a (bullet point) list of the specific benefits to ratepayers (i.e. to ratepayers, specifically), with detailed elaboration on each of the bullet pointed benefits.
I would like to get a public discussion going on this matter, and as a journalist, it’s incumbent upon me to be more specific (i.e. more specific than a generic assurance that Councillors (as caretakers of the public purse) “see value in our membership”) and to drill down further into this issue, for the sake of (a) transparency to ratepayers, and (b) community debate.
Would you also kindly disclose the annual membership fee (both the hard costs and all associated soft costs e.g. the travel etc costs of Councilors, Council management and other staff traveling to attend events).
I would like to make clear to the Masterton community what specific benefits accrue to ratepayers, and, where possible, to quantity these (in a specific ROI format) for my readers.
With thanks,
Jordan Kelly
