Police in Greymouth were summoned due to death threats aimed at local councillors
In the past fortnight, tensions have escalated in the Greymouth area, as locals grapple with soaring rate bills and potential water charges. The Grey District Council has taken the unusual step of calling in the police after receiving threats of a violent nature, including references to assassination and torture, directed at its councillors.
The council's chief executive, Joanne Soderlund, has condemned the personal attacks, hate speech, and violent threats as unacceptable and unlawful. The Mayor of the Grey District, Tania Gibson, has expressed her concern, stating that these threats have been particularly frightening for her children.
The council has announced an average rates rise of about 13%, but many ratepayers have reported increases of up to 30%. The water charge in the Greymouth area has risen from $784 to $913, while the sewerage charge has increased from $864 to $1091. The Uniform Annual General Charge has gone from $746 to $867, and the rubbish charge has increased from $383 to $603.
Councillors have had to make difficult decisions, often with no perfect option, according to Soderlund. The alternative to forming a Coast-wide water company, as the council has done with other districts, would have been having a standalone Grey entity, which would have resulted in the Government putting an official in to do it and the council having to pay for it.
The head of the West Coast coastal region waterworks, Peter Haddock, is considered by the Grey District Council to be the driving force behind this collaboration. Online discussion has raged over the apparent discrepancy between the council's announcement of an average rates rise of about 13% and the size of the bills being received by some ratepayers.
Figures in the West Coast water delivery plan, due to be submitted to the Government this week, show residential ratepayers in the Grey District paying about $2500 a year for water and sewerage charges within the decade. The council has explained that the larger increase is in the council's fixed charges for services.
Despite the heated online discussions, Soderlund has urged ratepayers to engage in constructive dialogue, rather than resorting to threats and abuse. The police are currently investigating the threats, and it is hoped that this will bring some resolution to the situation.
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