WCC seeking cuts of $60m, to comply with rating cap

Report from RNZ by Ellen O’Dwyer
Funding for Te Papa, opening hours for galleries, the city’s new years’ eve fireworks, and school swimming subsidies, are on the chopping block as the Wellington City Council tries to meet rates caps.

Deputy mayor Ben McNulty said at a meeting today that the council needed to grapple with “nasty decisions” to find $60 million in savings in order to comply with a four percent rates cap ordered by the government.

The legislation has passed its first reading at Parliament, but won’t be passed until after the election, and would be effective from 2029.

Local Government Minister Simon Watts said in August that for too long ratepayers had been hit with steep and unexpected rates increases, which put tough pressure on households.

McNulty said there would be “difficult, nasty, and hard decisions” to be made.

“We can’t do everything that we’re continuing to do, and have affordable rates, and meet the rates capping environment.”

McNulty, leading the revenue and financial value working group, has released a first proposal of cuts totalling $25 million.

These still need to be recommended by the Council’s Planning and Finance Committee in December, ahead of consultation on the 10-year plan in March and April, to be adopted in June.

The council currently gives $1.8 million to Te Papa, which goes directly to funding a major summer exhibition. The museum in the heart of the capital receives about 50 percent of its operating budget from the Government, and raises about $40 million through a mixture of visitor fees, philanthropy and commercial activities.

While Te Papa was an iconic institution for Wellington, McNulty said the government was telling councillors to “to get back to their bread and butter”.

“The question as to whether Wellington ratepayers should subsidise a national museum to the tune of $1.8m is a real one.”

Also under review is the opening hours for City Gallery and the Wellington Museum. The working group has proposes shutting the doors on Mondays for those places, apart from on public holidays.

Councillors may look to introduce fees for non-Wellington residents at areas like the Botanic Garden, McNulty said.

The city’s New Year event which displays fireworks on the waterfront, live music, and fire trucks is under threat – and would save $290,000 per year.

“If we’re looking at what’s really critical and important… that’s not as important a maintaining things like under-fives being free to go to swimming,” McNulty said.

Libraries aren’t free from scrutiny – while a recommendation from officials to look at closing some local library branches was ruled out, McNulty said the council would do a “cost-effectiveness” review of the city’s library network.

Also being considered is a swimming pool fee charge for an extra parent – while one parent and a child would still be able to attend free, if two parents attended, a spectator fee may be charged, and could provide an extra $60,000 per year for the council from 2029 onwards.

The council subsidises schools to hold swimming lessons at local pools, a flat subsidy applied to any school whether it’s private and wealthy, or public in a socio-economically challenged area, McNulty said. Councillors were now looking at scrapping that subsidy.

An area where spending would increase was resilience to severe weather, following the April floods, he said.