Residents fire up against street makeover, rates rises
The newly-formed Palmerston North Residents group claims to have woken “a sleeping giant” in staging the largest public meeting of citizens concerned about city council spending in several years.
Just short of 300 people attended the meeting at the QEC school hall to hear from two selected councillors on Thursday night.
“We want to be a voice from the community,” said group spokesperson Jackie Wheeler. We’ve been a sleeping giant for too long.”
She said members of the organising group cared deeply for the city, but wanted to influence its future, “not just have things happening to us”.
For many attending the meeting, it was the works on Featherston St to install a separated cycle lane, with buses stopping in the middle of the traffic lane, that had stirred them into action.
Others were worried about how much their rates were likely to go up – 11.3% next year, but doubling within a decade unless the council’s draft plan is substantially altered.
Councillor Karen Naylor, already known for opposing a lot of the spending and borrowing included in the draft long-term plan, and William Wood, who frequently supported her attempts to cut costs and was an outspoken opponent of the Featherston St works, were the only councillors invited to speak.
Naylor drew some gasps from the audience as she talked about the prospect of council debt rising to $660 million in a decade, and ironic laughter when she quoted audit advice that the draft longterm plan was unlikely to be realistic or achievable.
Wood extended an apology to Featherston St businesses for what the roading changes were doing to them, and gave examples of projects he and Naylor thought were “nice to have” but could be cut.
He urged people in the audience to make submissions, to suggest what could be cut, to “support what Councillor Naylor and I are trying to do” and provide some “ammunition”.
The absence of Mayor Grant Smith and the other 13 councillors was commented on by the first speaker to ask questions.
“The only councillors here are the two we don’t need to convince,” he said.
Wheeler said the mayor and the other councillors were invited to attend, but not to speak. Many had put in apologies, and the Manawatū Standard had given them all an opportunity to explain their absence.
Councillor Roly Fitzgerald “politely declined” but said he looked forward to hearing people’s views through the consultation process.
Councillor Lorna Johnson said she felt it was better to attend meetings where all councillors had a chance to contribute and there was an opportunity for a balanced discussion. Councillor Brent Barrett said he was unavailable, but would not have gone anyway.
“Not being offered a speaking opportunity alongside my colleagues, and the invited speakers only being from the conservative part of the political spectrum suggested to me the opportunity wasn’t geared to enable a balanced conversation traversing the range of views at council and in our city’s many communities,” Barrett said.
Councillor Pat Handcock said his invitation arrived late, long after the speakers had been locked in, so he did not go.
Others, including Billy Meehan, Kaydee Zabelin, Leonie Hapeta, Vaughan Dennison and Lew Findlay said they would have attended, but they had other plans, or other commitments cropped up that meant they could not.
Wheeler said the residents’ group had every right to organise a meeting as they saw fit rather than just fit in with the council’s consultation plans.
After the meeting some 47 people signed up to join the residents’ group committee, she said.
They had booked another meeting to be held at the QEC school hall on Tuesday, April 23, at 7pm.