Gardens entry fee to double
City councillors have only managed to carve off just over half of the targeted $6 million in budget deficit cuts they need – and are hoping more money might sprout from Hamilton Gardens to help to balance the books.
And, at their meeting yesterday, they decided a significant chunk of the $3.13 million agreed – some $320,000 – should flow from doubling the non-resident entry fee into Hamilton Gardens to $20.
However, councillors largely shied away from frontline services and events-related reductions.
Economic development committee chairperson Ewan Wilson had led the charge to slash $6 million from the draft annual plan deficit to get it down to $11 million.
He was grateful that – after wide-ranging discussions – councillors unanimously agreed to $3.13 million in cuts and the extra revenue but still felt he’d failed somewhat.
His drive had been motivated to get the deficit down to around earlier projected levels.
But, overall, Wilson was ‘‘giving myself a C-minus’’ for achievement over yesterday’s reduction.
Celebrating over $3 million wasn’t really appropriate, he said. ‘‘We still can’t balance our books.’’
Mayor Paula Southgate – noting that the proposed rates rise remained at 4.9% during a cost of living crisis – felt councillors had followed a good process to slice more than $3 million off the draft budget.
But she said ‘‘tomorrow we pay for what we spend today’’, a reference to the fact that deficits have to be funded by debt.
‘‘We do need to balance the books,’’ Southgate said, her comments strongly supported by her deputy Angela O’Leary.
The Hamilton Gardens entry price rise had initially been on the public excluded (PX) part of the agenda before being released after the hui.
Two other big items from the PX section also disclosed after the meeting included reducing cybersecurity spending by $250,000 and $500,000 in extra savings from vacancies not being filled. All up, items from PX are due to have a $1.12 million impact on the books.
PX ideas rejected included cutting major events sponsorship (such as for Balloons over Waikato) by $360,000, reducing Matariki-related funding by $100,000 and slashing the CBD ‘‘activation’’ fund by $100,000.
A range of other agenda open
District Council. The council would in turn provide the land for the use of the local Riding for the Disabled (RDA) branch and other community groups. At the meeting, a BMX track and an arboretum were also mooted for the site.
Murphy spoke about the proposal in the public forum of an Ō torohanga District Council meeting on Tuesday.
While some water would have to pass under the bridge before the plan comes to fruition, the gift would be part of a growing set of public donations made by private individuals to the town.
Recent examples include locals donating $3.2m towards an Ō torohanga Medical Centre upgrade and a $3m gift to a new dementia unit in the town.
Murphy said later that ‘‘while it is a gift, it will have an ongoing cost for the council and that was essentially what it [the submission] was about’’. The gift would be a lasting legacy and an opportunity for the Murphys to give back, he said.
‘‘In essence, it is a block of land in perpetuity for Ō torohanga for the benefit of activities and amenities.’’