Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace marks one year of office

Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace completed his first year of office this month confident that ratepayers were getting greater access to the council and having a say in running of their city.

“I stood on a ticket of encouraging greater participation in the running of our city and I have actively gone into the community to make myself available and accessible to our citizens,” he said.

The Mayor instituted a series of Mayoral forums which continue across the city and expanded the number of community committees and boards to provide greater representation.

“There has been a positive response to the greater visibility of what the city is aspiring to achieve and more participation,” he said.

Mayor Wallace was a key driver behind the campaign against graffiti across the city.

“We have special rapid response team that cleans off graffiti when it appears and a Local Bill has been introduce to Parliament to provider access to properties that not owned by the council.

“Since returning from Tempe in Arizona I have seen how effective they are in combating graffiti. One new idea I will promoting is the greening of our city where large walls and spaces that attract taggers will be covered with creepers and vegetation – it is hard to paint on the wall covered in shrubbery,” he said.

The Mayor has also been prominent in promoting job creation and prosperity for the city and advocated for the retention of the government scientific organisations in Lower Hutt.

“I met with Ministers and even the Prime Minister John Key to promote our causes and seek retention particularly of Industrial Research Limited. I am very pleased that Government has decided to retain Lower Hutt as the base for the expansion of its operation into Auckland and Christchurch.

“The government report Powering Innovation released last month is good news for the region and provides an anchor that will encourage business development and boost confidence,” he said.

Youth development has also been a strong issue for the Mayor and he is encouraging young leaders to stand for office. “We have a number of young people some as young as 19 years old sitting on committees and boards that are influencing decisions about the future of our city – I think that is a good thing and provides a voice for the young people of our city.”

Lower Hutt is considered a safe place to live and recently crime across the region dropped by more than two per cent.

“I have been actively encouraging our Safe City organisations and the role of volunteer patrols in communities across the city.”

“We have made good progress in installing CCTV cameras in key areas across the city and the latest in Petone are proving very effective. Wainuiomata will be next as we continue to make our city safer,” he said.

The Mayor says he is very pleased with the full council and how they have worked together as a composite team to benefit the city.

“The individual councillors do a lot of work on behalf of our citizens and they work closely and collegially around the council table.

“I am confident this will grow stronger as the year progresses,” he said.

This has been a particularly active period and I can not see the pace easing up, said Mayor Wallace.

“A number of key decisions will be made in the coming year particularly around roading and infrastructure.

“One issue we need to consider is the future of the McKenzie Pool and this is expected to come to the council table this month.”

The council will also be undertaking planning for the seismic strengthening of the council buildings in Laings Road.

Mayor Wallace said he had learned a lot in the past year.

“I have really appreciated the positive support I have received along the journey.

“We as a council have finite resources and we were determined this year to ensure the rate rise was kept to a minimum.

“We were successful and in the year ahead will continue to be careful with our funding to ensure the best value is provided for the city and its residents,” he said.

The Mayor believes residents do not have a desire to promote local government amalgamation in the Wellington region.

“There has been no push from residents and they are the ones who would be affected by an amalgamation move. I believe our smaller communities within Lower Hutt would miss out on the representation they are currently receiving.

“I do believe in shared services and already the Wellington region has a shared water system and we work closely with Upper Hutt and undertake a range of shared services including the Silverstream landfill which is the best facility in the country.”

And, on a personal note, the Mayor plans a new exercise programme to drop a bit of weight.

“Running a city is a busy task with lots of demands on my time and I need to get fitter and lose a bit more weight,” he said.

Exercise is not the only thing on his mind, there is a possibility of a wedding – the Mayor was engaged this month to his partner Linda Goss, Mayoress of the city.