Councillors take on mythical ratepayers

At the October committee meeting of the Stratford District Council elected members were confronted with the views of ten mythical ratepayers.

The ratepayers, including “Myth Ical” of Cordelia Street, were part of a creative exercise designed to have the councillors thinking about the views of everyday ratepayers.

As part of the development of their Long Term Plan, the Stratford District Councillors are considering a range of views on the Revenue and Financing Policy, which includes the prices of Council services and who should pay.

Mayor John Edwards says “we each randomly chose from a small stack of profiles which described mythical ratepayers. We then made a short presentation to the rest of Council from the point of view of our selected ratepayer, with particular attention to the cost of Council services our ratepayer uses.”

“The idea of the exercise,” John says, “was to encourage Councillors to look at the services that Council provides and the associated costs, and how that impacts on every ratepayer in a variety of ways.”

Presentations came from a farmer in Kohuratai, a retired widower, and recently married couple with three young children, among others.

Mayor Edwards says “the exercise was a success, and the draft Revenue and Financing Policy was adopted.”
 

Person 1

A young married couple who have recently purchased their first home in town. They have 3 young children under the age of ten (2 at primary school and 1 preschooler). They are library and pool users and the older children attend school holiday programme events.
 

Person 2

A male in his early 20’s. He plays rugby in the winter and likes to drink and party with his mates at weekends. He is employed as a builder and has purchased some land to build his first home. He needs both building and resource consent but doesn’t like paper work.
 

Person 3

A family in town. Both Mum and Dad work full time. The Dad works shift work in Eltham and Mum works at the local pub as a Bar Manager requiring a liquor licence. There are two teenage boys, one plays sports and is a member of the Swim Squad, the other is a bit of a rat bag and has come to the attention of the police. They struggle to keep up with rate payments.
 

Person 4

A couple in their fifties who live in town. They both have office jobs with 1 working in New Plymouth. The kids are grown up and left home. They have a large well kept garden and have two dogs. They also have a holiday bach at Urenui. They like to travel.
 

Person 5

A business owner who owns a bakery on the main street. He also owns the building. The business employs 4 staff. He lives in another district. He is a member of the Business Association.
 

Person 6

A family of 5 who have a Dairy Farm on a sealed road. The three kids are all at the local High School. They are actively involved in the rural community. They have the usual array of farm animals including 4 dogs. They are keen on recycling.
 

Person 7

A back country farmer at the end of a dirt road beyond the peg. A portion of the farm was planted in trees in the 1980’s. He runs mainly sheep and has a team of working dogs which he also trials. He does a bit of contracting with his digger on the side. He pays his rates in cash.
 

Person 8

A couple with a rural life style block on a sealed road close to Midhirst. The kids have left home and they operate a small bed and breakfast to supplement their income. They are looking to have the operation Qualmarked. They both play golf and enjoy an evening at the local club.
 

Person 9

A retired widower school teacher interested in local history, who has children and grandchildren living in town who he sees frequently and spends time walking the parks with. He is the secretary of the local bridge club who play at the Centennial Rest Rooms. He is an avid reader and visits the library at least twice a week. He also visits the cemetery.
 

Person 10

A pensioner who lives alone. She has some savings. She keeps to herself and is not involved with much in the community so therefore uses no services. She has a mobility scooter. She has a group of teenagers living next door who have constant visitors and parties.