Crichton Christie served on the Council
for 11 terms, including time as the head of the council’s finance committee. He
told LETTERBOX,
“The council’s finances have deteriorated in recent years. Total debt and rates have increased faster than the rate of inflation, which is now costing ratepayers dearly.
Mr Christie says the current
council has not addressed those problems, which is why they increased rates
17.2% last year and are proposing significant rate increases for each of the
next two years. External Council debt increased $34 million in the year ended
June 2024 to $265 million, and total interest-bearing debt (including internal
borrowing from reserves) increased $45 million to $377 million. The annual interest bill is now a touch under $15 million a year.
“It's now at a stage when tough
decisions need to be made, in much the same way the Semenoff lead Progress Team
did when it was first elected in 1989. The current and previous councils have
taken the easy way out by passing the cost of their waste and inefficiencies
onto ratepayers, and that is being felt by homeowners and renters.”
WDC Annual Report, year ended 30 June 2024: HERE >>
