Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, February 22, 2024
Hamilton City Council is planning to ask Hamiltonians what services they are willing to cut to realise staff and consultancy savings put forward by elected members.
The Council will consider reduced levels of community and back-office services following an Elected Member initiative to cut staff and consultancy budgets.
Refresher
Hamiltonians slapped with an exorbitant rate hike
What it means
A motion passed at this week’s Council meeting sets out further reductions to Council’s personnel, which are expected to save $10.4 million in 2026/27, and $104 million over the ten years of the Long-Term Plan.
The cuts are likely to mean reductions to the services that the Council provides to the community and its internal operations. The particular activities that could be removed or reduced would be identified and confirmed over the coming months.
If progressed, reductions would start to be made from midway through the 2025/26 financial year (July to June), with savings in that year of $2.1 million after redundancy costs are met.
These reductions are in addition to the $7 million in savings delivered in 2024/25 by previous and current staff restructures which have seen 68 roles removed so far, with more to come before July 1, 2024.
How it will be decided
Through its draft Long-Term Plan consultation, residents will be asked about the Council services they are willing to see be reduced, or stopped altogether.
Chief Executive Lance Vervoort said the ongoing staff restructures are about delivering existing services as efficiently as possible.
“Any further cuts to personnel will impact on what the community receives from the Council. Based on what we hear through the consultation, Elected Members will face some difficult calls about what those service reductions could be. It is too early to say in what areas there could be cutbacks. We want to get this right, so if the cuts make it into the final Long-Term Plan, we will be looking to go back to the community through our 2025/26 Annual Plan early next year.”
Double-digit rate hike
In a meeting that took place this week, the Council adopted an updated draft Long-Term Plan with water services included in all ten years.
Following the decisions, the Council is proposing rate increases in the first five years of the Long-Term Plan of 19.9% ($10.90 per week or $567 a year for a median value property), followed by four years of 15.7% increases.
Rather than target balancing its books against the central government measure in 2024/25, this would now be achieved against the Council’s measure in 2026/27.
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said, “I agree that double-digit rate rises are not sustainable or affordable for large parts of our community, that is why I initially proposed a smaller rate increase. I am open to exploring all options to reduce costs for Council and consumers, however, it is important to recognise that further staff reductions will lead to the reduction of significant Council services, which make our city a great place to live. We need to consider all the facts, so our community feels empowered to make an informed decision.”
The rate hike has been a point of discussion and debate for Hamiltonians ever since it was announced. Most of the households have expressed their disappointment and blamed the Council for not doing enough to manage the budget efficiently.
Some have blamed the Council for undertaking road improvement projects that were not essential, leading to higher costs. It now remains to be seen how the city would work towards a lesser burden on ratepayers, while still maintaining the quality of services offered to the residents.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
