A high powered committee set up by the KCDC to work out a fair charging regime for proposed water meters has failed to deliver a report due in February and Jackie Elliott, organiser of an almost 8,000 signature petition for a ratepayer referendum on water meters, wants to know why.
She says the Charging Regime Advisory Committee’s report was due to be released prior to the Council’s Annual Plan submission process so that the ratepayers have information about the proposed water meter charges against which to write submissions on whether they support water meters or not.
Jackie Elliott says the latest information she has had is that the C.R.A.G. report won’t now be available until somewhere around June and that’s after the public submission and consultation process is over.
“Once again promises have been broken and democracy has been tossed aside.” The Mayor caused an uproar last year when she stated ” the public were not in a position to vote yes or no in a referendum decision on water meters without having a chance to consider the charges recommended in the CRAG report. Yet she expects her Council to make the same decision.
It is also a concern that Ross Church, as chair of the KCDC Corporate Finance Committee has publicly told another Council member Cr Gurunathan, not to change his mind and vote against water metering. Ms Elliott asks, “Are other Councillors under the same pressure from the Chair?”I ask Cr. Gurunathan for his reply to Cr Church’s very undemocratic request.
The Mayor has also stated in a press release “KCDC WILL proceed with districtwide water metering as an austerity measure.” Is this the fair, democratic and transparent decision making that current Council members all campaigned for in the last election?
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