28 March 2023
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Dumping of shopping trolleys
Enquiry
Am just writing a story about trolley stealing and how they make their way around the cbd etc and wondered if someone could please help me with a couple of questions?
- Does council have any responsibility in removing trolleys from the streets?
- If so, how many does it deal with in a month? What does it cost, if anything?
- How many complaints does it receive a month, if any, of trolleys in public places?
- Is there any concern this might impact on the amenity of Rotorua? On tourism?
- If there are any problem areas for trolleys being dumped, where are they?
- Any other comment or info?
- Can I also ask if this was ever notified publicly, and if so, when and where?
Response
From DCE Community Wellbeing, Anaru Pewhairangi:
Taking trolleys from business premises is considered theft and when a trolley is abandoned it is considered illegal dumping which council does have responsibility to clean up.
Unfortunately that comes at a cost. About 260 trolleys are removed from around the CBD every month, costing ratepayers about $5000 per month.
Trolleys on roadsides are obviously untidy and a hazard and that impacts on how both locals and visitors view and feel about a place. It may also impact their perceptions of safety and can harm the environment if they end up in waterways or ditches so for all those reasons, it’s important to us that trolleys are removed from public places as quickly as possible.
We will continue to discuss the issue with businesses where trolleys are taken from to try and get them to share some of the burden.
Council does not receive a large number of complaints about trolleys. They are generally collected as part of the city clean schedule – our contractors pick them up as they find them.
Anecdotally, the most problematic areas during the past couple of years have been the streets near Central Mall and along Fenton Street.
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Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Sale of Clayton Road site
Enquiry
was writing a preview for the council meeting on Wednesday and came across the sale of the Clayton Rd reserve.
Can I ask how much this sold for?
Who won the tender? Who was the land sold to?
What is being developed?
When did it sell?
Have any consents been lodged and what are they for?
Reporter provided LINK to tender request on the Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS) site.
Response
We provided the following information and comment:
You’ll find reports about this and a map from the Operations & Monitoring Committee meeting of August 2022 at THIS LINK on Council’s website. The report on this land is on p68 of the agenda that you’ll find via that link.
The Operations & Monitoring Committee voted to recommend to the Council that the land at 283 Clayton Rd be declared surplus and be disposed of using an expression of interest process.
The above recommendation from the Operations & Monitoring Committee in August 2022 then went to the Council meeting of that month for final decision-making and was approved.
From Council’s DCE District Development, Jean-Paul Gaston:
As an outcome of the RFP we have identified a preferred developer who is currently undertaking due diligence. More information will be available once the due diligence period concludes over the next couple of months.
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Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Outstanding rates payments
Enquiry
I was wondering if someone were able to please provide me with some stats and comment about outstanding rates payments?
How many rates payments were expected this last quarter ending February 20?
How many were paid on time?
What is outstanding from that quarter?
How does this compare to previous quarters? (last five years)
What is outstanding in total to date?
Inclusive of penalties?
What is the largest outstanding rates bill in the district. How long has it been on the books and what is being done to arrange payment?
What happens when this is not paid?
Have there been any debt collection agencies hired to collect debts in this last quarter?
In this financial year? (Starting last July)
How does rates non-payment impact on council work?
What options do people have?
How has the cost of living crisis likely to have impacted on rates payments?
Any other relevant comment, info or stats?
Response
From DCE Organisational Enablement Thomas Collé:
How many rates payments were expected this last quarter ending February 20?
29,068
How many were paid on time?
26,135
What is outstanding from that quarter?
Council’s system does not break the outstanding rates balances on a ‘per instalment’ basis but the total outstanding rates as at 28/02/2023 was $5.4m.
How does this compare to previous quarters? (last five years)
For February 2023, there were 2,933 ratepayers who received a late payment penalty.
This compares to 3,196 in February 2022, 3,023 in February 2021, 3,135 in February 2020, 3,390 in February 2019 and 3,570 in February 2018.
This downward trend in the number of ratepayers paying late (and attracting a penalty) correlates with an increase in the number of ratepayers who have elected to pay by direct debit in regular instalments over the last 5 years, minimising the risk of late payment.
What is outstanding in total to date?
The total amount of rates debt is $5.4m, which represents all rates and penalty balances more than 90 days old.
Inclusive of penalties?
Yes
What is the largest outstanding rates bill in the district. How long has it been on the books and what is being done to arrange payment?
$93,811 inclusive of penalties. This debt is seven years old, Council is pursuing this amount with a debt collection agency and it is subject to court proceedings.
What happens when this is not paid?
Unpaid rates are followed up by reminder notices in the first instance. If rates are still unpaid and the property has a mortgage, Council is enabled by the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 to place a demand with the bank who then pay on the ratepayer’s behalf (adding the amount to the ratepayer’s mortgage).
If rates are unpaid and there is no mortgage on the property, Council engages third party debt collection agencies to pursue the overdue amounts on Council’s behalf.
The last resort if all other options have been exhausted is a rating sale, where Council follows a specific legal pathway to place the property up for sale in order to recover the portion of unpaid rates (although in practice this is incredibly rare).
Have there been any debt collection agencies hired to collect debts in this last quarter?
Yes
In this financial year? (Starting last July)
Yes
How does rates non-payment impact on council work?
Rate revenue is collected to fund the various services Council provides. The large scale non-payment of rates would mean that Council would have to decide whether to stop delivering certain services to the public, or to fund the services from a different source (i.e. through external borrowing or grants from an external party).
What options do people have?
Should someone find themselves having difficulty there are a number of options they can take. This might mean entering into a payment arrangement over time, entering into a rates postponement scheme or applying to Council for a rates remission. Policies relating to rates postponement or remission can be found in our Long Term Plan from page 150 rlc-ltp-2021-010721-web.pdf (rotorualakescouncil.nz)
How has the cost of living crisis likely to have impacted on rates payments?
Council has not currently had an increase in the number of ratepayers requesting support with their rates payments however we remain committed to engaging with any ratepayer who needs assistance or advice.
Any other relevant comment, info or stats?
For the year ending 20 June 2023 Council had 30,775 ratepayers and forecast to collect $113.5m in rates (excluding water by meter volumetric charges).