‘Rate increases damage families’
Hamilton’s a great city. It’s my home, I’ve lived here all my life and I love it as much now as ever. We’re growing as fast, if not faster, than the rest of New Zealand. That growth brings opportunity and choice about how and where we live, work, do business and enjoy our leisure time. These are exciting times to be living in an exciting city. This excitement and opportunity are driving a growing confidence within Hamilton.
I’m Garry Mallett, Hamilton City councillor (East Ward) and I’m delighted to offer my services to the people of Hamilton for another three years. I hope this message gives you the confidence to again honour me with your vote (voting deadline is noon, Saturday, October 8, 2016).
I was born in Waikato Hospital, attended Vardon Primary, Maeroa Intermediate and Hamilton Boys’ High School. I gained a Bachelor of Management Studies at Waikato University. Alison and I have four school age children so, just like many of you, we spend lots of time getting kids to and from school, on the sideline at sports, dance studios, choir practices etc.
Among other things I’ve been a freezing worker, builder’s labourer, rubbish collector, jazzerjetics instructor and an accountant. During my accounting years I worked with many of Hamilton’s biggest businesses – the New Zealand Co-Operative Dairy Co (now Fonterra), Waikato Savings Bank, Hallensteins etc. Career-wise my greatest enjoyment, challenge and success came with my 20 years owning and operating the Hamilton Les Mills Gym (and its precursor). There I learned the importance of understanding and delivering what your customer wants at a great price, to innovate, to be economical and efficient and the importance of always improving and growing your service, always getting better, always getting faster and always cutting waste.
I’ve also enjoyed public service. I served on council 1998-2001. I didn’t restand due to the arrival of our twins. From 2002-2008, I served two terms as chairman of the WEL Energy Trust. Over those six years I led a team that totally turned WEL around. We cut annual expenses from around $2 million to $700,000 and introduced the power rebate scheme which returned over $100 million to Hamilton’s power consumers over those six years.
It’s that experience in business, public governance and a commitment to residents, ratepayers, business and the community that I offer to council.
I strongly believe that council must be the servant of the people, too often it’s the other way round.
Unfortunately it’s my experience that council views ratepayers as ‘‘easy money’’. Unlike a real business, council can always get more money from its ‘‘customers’’ (ie, ratepayers). This leads to council becoming lazy; it fails to improve services, fails to find efficiencies and savings, tolerates failed schemes and vanity projects and becomes comfortable plundering ratepayers with ‘‘never-ending’’ 3.8% annual rate increases. These exponential rates increases damage our families, community groups and the job/prosperity creators in our community.
Council must do its job – building and maintaining the excellent core infrastructure critical for homes, business and our community. (We’ve just seen what happens when infrastructure is inadequate in the recent infected water crisis in Havelock North). This vital investment is what supports the growth of our exciting city and can easily be done without huge rates increases.
For too long council has over-spent, over-borrowed and over-regulated to the detriment of Hamilton’s residents. Rather than prompting growth much of what council does actually impedes growth!
Council is hiking rates 3.8% every year. Every year council takes a larger and larger portion of our income. From 2011-2020 the amount council takes from us in rates will increase by over 50%! That is utterly unsustainable and frankly cruel. It slows growth, reduces choice and prosperity and hikes our cost of living. We simply can’t afford a council that grows at the expense of our community!
Weak governance and poor priorities by previous councils have left ratepayers paying off huge debts from the V8s, ongoing annual losses of around $7-9 million from Claudelands Events Centre and a shockingly restrictive, expensive and time consuming district plan that drives up the cost of homes and slows business growth.
I totally reject and have constantly voted against council’s annual 3.8% rates increases. There are huge efficiencies to be found within council if only councillors were prepared grasp them.
The good news – all this can be fixed by a council with the right priorities and the guts to implement them. We need a council that understands its role in growing Hamilton and respects the role of others.
The citizens, families, businesses and community groups of Hamilton will power Hamilton forward, supported by outstanding council infrastructure and light-handed regulation. I’m very confident that together we can grow this great city.
Hamilton is poised for success. That means success for you, your family and your neighbours. Greater prosperity means more homes, better employment opportunities and outstanding leisure options. We just need the right councillors. Re-elect Garry Mallett – Saving Ratepayers Money.