Op-ed piece from Local Government New Zealand

Local government - what's in it for the average New Zealander?

Meet Ryan Brown, father of three, construction worker, and now homeowner and ratepayer. Up until now Ryan hasn't paid rates directly - he paid rent and the landlord took care of everything.

Now he's paying rates, he wants to know where his money goes and what's in it for him. This is also a good year to take note. Why? Because local elections are in October and the Ryan Browns of New Zealand can have their say by voting or standing as a candidate.

The role of local government

People often judge the value of their local council by how much their rates rise and what the money is spent on. Why do we measure local government this way when we judge other organisations on their level of service, their responsiveness to issues or their return to shareholders? Why is local government different and what's its role?

Local government exists to improve the well-being of the local community. Councils have to enforce rules and laws, they also provide many of the day-to-day services we all take for granted, as well as looking at the bigger picture of long-term economic, social, cultural and environmental sustainability. All of these things require collective action and choices, which have to be binding on the whole community.

In order to do this, decisions are taken by a group of people who have been elected to represent their community. This is where people like Ryan Brown have the opportunity to stand as a candidate, get elected and lend a voice to the people they represent.

Local government is about being local. Elected members understand local circumstances, have local knowledge and generally have the ability to undertake activities more effectively than a national organisation (including central government).

Ryan Brown's council is accessible and can respond to local needs and opinions. Local government is much more willing to engage with its communities than any other institution. Ryan Brown can easily become involved in council decision-making and his views, along with those of his community, are sought out frequently during the year. Councils are physically close to people the issues are much more relevant and local, and there are more opportunities for getting involved.

Provision of public goods

Local government cannot be judged on the same basis as competitive markets, in which individuals make free choices about where and when they spend their money and the most efficient allocation of resources. Local government is more complicated with the need to provide public goods within the best use of public money.

Many of these public goods Ryan Brown never even thinks about like having water in his taps, a toilet that flushes, rubbish collection and effective street lighting, but there are also the activities which make our communities great places to live, such as economic development, parks and community events.

Then there's regional councils who have specific responsibilities to manage the natural resources of an area, making decisions on things like the quality and allocation of water, pest control, flood management, civil defence, regional transport, and anything which may have an impact on our natural environment.

Tough decisions

Councillors provide a leadership and decision-making role within council. Each decision is a judgement and trade-off where there are tensions concerning the different priorities of different ratepayers, some things will directly benefit Ryan Brown but others may not and may have more of an impact on his dog-owning neighbour.

Many of these judgements have funding implications and are consulted on with communities through the annual plan process.

If a community wants better local roading, or a new community facility, they may have to pay more for it through their rates. If a community wants more development and growth in its area, the council may have to employ more town planners or building officials. Each of these decisions is considered in regard to the community in question and also with regard to future generations so the rates burden does not fall entirely on today's ratepayers. This means that Ryan Brown's children will help pay for the facilities they benefit from when they too pay rates.

How each of our councils handles these situations, and how much the council is willing to borrow for investing in the future, varies across the communities of New Zealand. The point is that locally elected people get to have a say on these decisions reflecting the needs of the local community.

Leading communities

The ability of councillors to lead a community is becoming more important as the world becomes smaller. People have a greater sense of belonging to their own community, than their city or region. Ryan Brown will directly affected by a recent council decision on land-use, and he may have strong opinions for or against it.

Not only will Ryan feel a sense of attachment to his community, he also wants his community to offer everything he needs for his family. Many people see their community as a competitive asset, and want it to be as good as, or better than, other similar communities. This raises expectations about what is available in the community and the level of services that councils should provide, for example, the level of community services or facilities on offer.

The combination of community expectations and badly needed infrastructure investment has created the pressure on rating, and discussions with the Government about supplementary funding tools for local government. It has also led to many discussions with communities about what councils should provide and to what level.

The local elections in October are an opportunity for people like Ryan Brown to get involved and have their say in their local community.

ENDS

This article can be attributed to Mike Reid, Manager, Governance, Local Government New Zealand.

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