Council’s funding rethink
New Plymouth district councillors remain divided on what to do about funding for community groups, but they’ll have the next year to think about what they want to happen.
The debate about whether or not to rethink the district council’s $200,000 cut to the community funding pool continued at yesterday’s first planning committee meeting of the new term.
The previous NPDC removed $200,000 per year for community grants in the 2015-2025 Long Term Plan. Several community organisations which closed over the past two years claimed this was the final nail in their coffin.
Yesterday, the committee resolved to reconsider the cuts in the 2018-2028 Long Term Plan (LTP) deliberations.
Newly-elected councillor Mike Merrick, who last held a council seat in 2007, signalled he would like to have the funding cuts reconsidered in the 2017/18 annual plan process.
While most councillors were of the view the matter shouldn’t come up again before LTP discussions, councillor Gordon Brown - who doesn’t have voting rights on the committee - said councillors should back Merrick’s idea.
‘‘No one is suggesting... that funding be restored immediately. They’re saying have a look at putting it back in during the draft annual plan.’’
He acknowledged the cuts came at a time where council needed to be tough on spending, but its financial position now meant there was an opportunity to reconsider some of the harsher decisions that had to be made.
‘‘I ask you, what sort of council do you want to be in this term?
‘‘Times are not so tough, we can do this, we can restore some viability to the many worthy organisations.’’
Councillor Richard Jordan said an ‘‘ad hoc, one-year decision’’ wasn’t going to be an informed decision.
‘‘The time to consider these long-term funding arrangements with our community, which the council decided would be strategic, is in the Long Term Plan.’’
A review of the last six years of the council’s community funding efforts showed there were fewer organisations in the district receiving funding, but the average value of grants had increased.
More funding was going to ‘‘strategic’’ community partnerships or groups being funded on contracts lasting up to five years.
Mayor Neil Holdom said this term’s council needed to follow through on the decision to look at funding strategically, through multi-year contracts.
‘‘We also need to understand that, ultimately, when we look at a range of priorities... community funding is the cherry on the top, but there are some very long term and significant financial requirements over the next 10 years and it’s appropriate that we look at these things with context,’’ Holdom said.
‘‘As different things come up we need to balance the needs of the community - their wants and their needs.’’
Councillor Shaun Biesiek said it was unfair the council should be shouldering all the blame for community organisations folding due to a lack of funds as many groups came to the NPDC after central government funders - including the Taranaki District Health Board - had cut their funding amounts.
‘‘Some of those applications that I recall from last time should not actually ever be funded by this council, they should be funded by central government organisations.’’
To reintroduce the $200,000 to the community funding pool would be an increase of 31 per cent of the existing $665,000 budget, which would directly impact rates by 0.245 per cent.