Residents fired up over rate rise

Alexandra and Clyde residents fired up about ongoing rate increases and the water supply in Central Otago, challenged mayoral candidates at a debate held in Alexandra last night..

Mayor Malcolm Macpherson, Deputy Mayor Tony Lepper and newcomer Jeff Hill were hounded by the public about the "horrendous rate hikes" in the area.

Rates in the area had grown an average of 7 per cent.

Responding to the questions, Mr Hill said rate rises were "unsustainable" for residents and because "times were tight" rates should not be as high.

Dr Macpherson said it would be a "silly thing to do" to cap or freeze the rate increases as it had shown not to work in other areas.

Mr Lepper said the council needed to listen to what community members wanted and should not be rating residents for money the council was not using.

Another subject touched on was the water supply and its cost for the region.

Mr Lepper said that introducing water meters was necessary as they drove down demand and people could find out where they were wasting water.

When councils charged for water, people used less because it "hurts your pocket when you use too much", said Dr Macpherson.

Mr Hill said recently installed meters had let people know when they were wasting water and education about waste was needed to be given to residents and ratepayers.

The candidates voiced how they would campaign for the election with Dr Macpherson saying he would use the "success of his leadership" and track record as the base of his campaign.

Mr Lepper said it was "time for a leadership change" and the region needed a more vocal leader and a "user friendly" council for the public.

Mr Hill said the council was "too many influence by too few people" and as mayor he would concentrate on the "basics" such as water and sewage and tackle the tourism budget which he thought was too high.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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