‘No rates rise or hall gets it’
A spray-painted threat to demolish a community hall if council rates increased has been reported to police.
The words: ‘‘Rates go up, hall comes down’’ and ‘‘No more rate rise’’ were spray-painted in bright orange on the side of the Midhirst Hall some time on Tuesday night.
The hall is in Taranaki’s Stratford district and council chief executive Sven Hanne said the words were being treated as a threat to harm the hall.
Ironically, the hall does not even belong to the council. It is run by a committee and the vandalism comes just a few months after the hall was repainted.
‘‘The impact of this will be on a small community group with limited funds, which makes it worse,’’ Hanne said.
The council and the committee had both reported the paint attack to the police. Hanne said the timing of the threat was odd.
The current years’ rates were set in July, and the main discussions on council activities that would affect rates were held every three years.
‘‘We are in the third year of that cycle, so it’s a most unlikely time.’’
Hanne said the council had not received any complaints about rates recently.
He was keen to hear from anybody who might know anything about the vandalism.
‘‘There are better ways to discuss rates increases than with spray paint on the outside of a building.’’
Neighbour Heidy Van Veen said she saw the vandalism as soon as she opened her curtains yesterday morning.
‘‘It had looked so nice all painted. Now it’s ruined,’’ she said.
‘‘They’ve written on it not to put rates up, but this is going to cost the ratepayers – it’s shocking. My neighbour across the road rang me. She was so angry.’’