AA credit rating a vote of confidence for Lower Hutt

International credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has reaffirmed Hutt City Council’s AA credit rating which shows we are in great shape as a city.
An AA rating is same rating as the NZ government and means recipients have a “very strong capacity to meet their financial commitments”.
The rating underlines the council’s careful approach to managing ratepayers’ money and makes the council one of the most creditworthy in the country.
We are currently the only New Zealand council rated by Standard&Poor’s that consistently achieves after-capital account surpluses.
Hutt City’s financial management is a very positive factor in the ratings. The agency says council is supported by an experienced and qualified management team.
The agency has a very positive view of Hutt’s financial management practices and says the city’s budgetary performance is very strong and our operating position is expected to improve in the future.
My Chair of the Finance and audit Committee, Deputy Mayor David Bassett, shares the view that the rating is a vote of confidence in the Hutt City Council’s management of its finances and plans for the future.
The agency outlook is that we will continue to manage our financial position and hold our AA rating.

Show Lower Hutt cares – step out and vote

Your city is your community. This is where you live. You have a right to make a statement about choosing the people you would like to drive council decision-making over the next three years.

Getting the people you want to represent you, and your interests, requires a bit of thought in terms of researching the ideal candidate and then making sure you return you postal votes within the prescribed time.

Voting in this election is also an opportunity to show Lower Hutt residents and ratepayers have an active interest in their local authority and a commitment to improving the city for future generations.

There is a bit more at stake this time round.

Lower Hutt is in good shape. We are sound and have invested in our infrastructure. We have started a programme of progressively improving our community facilities.

The new council that you elect will be faced with consideration of a Local Government Commission proposal on the future of local government governance structures. This is likely to be consulted on early in the New Year.

The new council will also oversee the development of the city’s administrative centre in Laings Road and many other projects designed to improve our city, including a planned upgrade of the city halls.

Implementation of the new urban growth strategy will also take the attention of the mayor and councillors during the new triennium.

Someone said voters need an incentive to get out and vote. Motivation could include selecting a city council that will continue to constrain the level of rate increases and be prudent when it comes to spending.

But most of a new council needs a mandate to govern. And that is truly possible when citizens step up and vote for their preferred candidates.

I am keen to see a minimum turn-out of 45 per cent of our eligible voters.

The election result is announced on Saturday 12 October…I hope your vote will be included.

Be prepared for an emergency


Being prepared and ready for an emergency is vital 

Be prepared …that’s my message to our community in the wake of shakes and quakes that are currently hitting our city.
Everyone should know the drill of drop, cover and hold in the event of an earthquake.
But too often not enough preparation is made for the aftermath.
Earthquakes can break infrastructure, leaving the city without power or water, and even telephones. The basics of water, some food, lighting of some sort, a radio, and warm clothing to help carry your family, or work colleagues and neighbours, through the first hours of an emergency are vital.
Emergency evacuation from your home and availability of emergency packs containing essential supplies needs planning and preparation. It is important.
Many residents are purchasing large water containers holding more than 100 litres from the council iSite. They are a good investment.
The quake of Friday 16 August showed how much pressure goes on the mobile telephone networks and main access highways with trains and buses being suspended and people from outside the central city hitchhiking home to the Hutt Valley or up the coast.
Just getting out of the city to Lower Hutt took more than two hours for many, and for others, it took even longer.
Nothing will be normal in the first hours, or even days and weeks, following an earthquake or other natural disaster.
Schools are doing a good job in educating their pupils about being prepared. Workplaces and families in their own homes must be equally active in planning emergency exits and assembly points. One emergency pack should be available for each family member and contain essentials suitable for them. A family emergency pack with greater food and water resources, emergency medical packs and other essential equipment should also be made ready.
You can then only hope that you do not need to use them…but you will be prepared in case you do.

http://youtu.be/Tm0ra6N0cuY

Take the best of local government and make it work

Our Hutt City Council unanimously supported a Local Government Reorganisation alternative application which proposes two new options that will provide a real alternative to a single council supercity.

We have asked the Local Government Commission to stay connected with the will of ratepayers in the Wellington region and to push for cost efficient management.

The application calls for an enhanced status quo that maintains current boundaries but merges the region’s transport and water management  under a jointly owned business; or four unitary authorities and regional transport and water management.

Our council’s submission is the only viable option for fixing the real problems facing the region – it is a call for common sense and pragmatism

We propose tackling the big issues of transport and water management across the region which require the region to speak and act with one voice.

Anything else is just expensive window dressing, I believe.

The Local Government Commission will be embarking on a mission impossible if it tries to launch a total regional amalgamation which has been firmly rejected across the majority of residents and ratepayers.

Our voice reflects the mood of our community who do not wish to see their hard earned money wasted on the creation of a single city.

We undertook to listen to our ratepayers. They supported an enhanced status quo and merging of transport and water management with a further option of four unitary authorities if more change is proposed by the commission.

An enhanced status quo is the most democratic and economically efficient model for our city and the region.

Mayor Wallace says his council directly opposes the application from the Greater Wellington Regional Council Council, which was formulated and submitted without being truly tested by the public.

Under the enhanced status quo we would be taking the best and making it work for the region as a whole.

The TDB report which supports our Hutt City Council application recommended no boundary changes, but region-wide Council-controlled organisations for transport and water. It says the second-best boundary option was creating four unitary authorities. The report also suggests a supercity is not the best option for the Wellington region

ENDS

Hutt City Council Alternate Application to Local Government Commission