A firm answer from Christchurch's mayor on whether the Cathedral restoration levy should go into reducing a rates increase.
Households have paid $6.52 each year since 2018.
Halswell councillor Andrei Moore wants it used to help a reduce a 8.4% rates increase, while the rebuild is indefinitely paused.
Mayor Phil Mauger told John MacDonald he believes the money should stay where it is.
He says interest will accrue and be ready for when the Cathedral restoration continues.
People can submit feedback on the draft annual plan in February.
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You're listening to the Canterbary Morning's Podcast with John McDonald from News Talk ZB.
So time for a regular and our final regular catch up with christ Rich Mayor Phil Major can.
I, Phil Jonathan, How are you well?
You're winding down?
There?
Are you working right up till Christmas midnight? On Christmas Eve?
I think the days the twentieth of December for us as far as council stuff goes all right.
Okay, okay, still a lot to do as the mayor of New Zealand's scond largest city. What's your reaction to the fairy announcement of an announcement of an announcement yesterday?
It'd be nice to come out with something that's a wee bit more concrete, so to speak. There's a lot of talking, but need a bit of dewey. But I'm sure about doing it in the background but they can't tell us. But it'd be nice to be a web in br upfront. I feel.
Are you disappointed?
Ah? No, it's going to happen one They'll get the fery sorted out between Wellington and picked in one day. But I'm still that we dream in the back of the head that it'd be still good. You're probably old enough to remember what the rangutaria was like. We could still have one faery coming down to christ Urch every now in with freight on it and that would stop one hell of a lot of truck movements on the main may not throw it up up to pick them. So it's just there's a whole lot of thought got to go into that. Of course, we have to upgrade the port for something to receive it, but I think it's an opportunity.
Let's look at the I mean now the old cathedral. It's been back in the news this week because one of your counselors have suggested you've got five million bucks on the bank that you've taken from right Pass as part of the cathedral levy, and one of your counselor said, let's spend that and try and get the rates down. What's your position position on that.
Well, it's going out that it's going to have consultation, so I've got to be careful what I say. But we've collected that money. Some people might not like have paid it, but it's done, it's there. I still feel it should sit there and interest will accrue on it. It won't approve that quick. But it's there for when they are ready to kick off and go again. So it's going out to consultation. If people want to know, please let us know. Let us know what you think.
I mean, five million bucks would make no difference to this possible or potential prospective rates increase, would it?
Yes? Bugger all? Really where are.
We at with the rates increase? At the minute?
What we are our first year at long term plan? Last year, the first year out has said that we were going to be eight point four percent. Now if we don't rock in at eight point four what we said a year ago and we're higher than that, we're going to look even you look daft. You know, we're trying to get trust and confidence back in the council. We can't even keep our finger on the pulse for one year's worth of crystal ball gazing. There is something wrong with us. So eight point four in my head is the absolute next men, but we can have on it to try and get a love.
That's way above the rate of inflation.
It is, yes, it is, but and that.
Was what you talked about a lot prior to the last election, wasn't it is?
It was? But one of the things we had come to us last week and it's still got the paint, the ink dripping off. It is how Tamata are away and now throwing a levey at us, and that's going to be that's half a percent rate increase the levey that they're going to throw on us, which we didn't know about until the end of last week. So we've got to get work even harder to get it down to that below eight point four.
Still, I want, if you want to, if you want a way, I'm making your eight point four look pretty good. He can's come up with it because you're looking at increasing rates by eight point four percent. It's decided to increase bus fees by fifty percent. What's your reaction to that.
Here we are, we're trying to encourage people to get on a bus. We've got bus lanes all over the village that we want to see being used. And no one gets more upset to see a bus rock and past you with no one on it or very few people on it. I know it's busy in the morning, but we're putting the price up. I know it's a user pace thing, but putting the price up helping it has got to be a better way to do that. So we've again I've got to look at them to see what they can do there. I don't think the end's pretty tight, but it doesn't help the situation.
I mean, with respect Hill, you quite often say there's going to be a better way of doing it. What's what would be a better way of doing this?
Do you mean to get the price of the bus fares down? To be honest, it's got to be a better way, and we've just got to sit around the table and come up with a better way. You can't go putting our rates up in one hand and say how we're going to subsidize bus fears that we've got it sort of has to be user pays to a point, But what are we are to wear? After Greenhouse gests reductions and we're more people using buses, different different ways of looking things. And of course the next thing, you know, because the buses from Rangura MKAYPOI are being fairly well patronized in the morning, and all of a sudden more people use the cacters keep to bring carr down. But then you've got the price of parking that flags things up. So's it's a bloody difficult decision in anyone's language.
Will it be better if the councils, you know, the local councils ran the buses instead of he can?
Ah, that's I think that's what's now happening in Auckland. That it could be. It could because we as council we supply the bus routes and the bus shelters and stuff like that, and he can do the running of the buses and tendering of the buses and the running of the buses. So maybe it could all be in one thing. We could call it the christ Transport Board.
Jim, you floating an idea. What you're seriously thinking that could be something worth looking into.
Well we should. You've got to look at everything. You know, my mother used to work at doing ticketing at Transport Training Board. They used to call it. I shouldn't say that's not it the transport the transport board years ago.
Well watch the space. That's our final catch up of the year, and you know you gotta you gotta look back, spend your highlight film apart from our regular catch ups.
Oh well that is the highlight gooing it. It might be lying, but those will be growing longer. If I didn't.
I feel the same as well. Film you know, I've don't know what I'm going to do for the next month.
It's strangers to the truth, aren't we the one getting the opp sorted, but the other one getting stuck into that wastewater treatment plant? Because the people out that side of town definitely need to be given to be given a break. And I'm very, very confident that it's going to be well. The opp is sorted now out there, it will vanish totally, and wastewater treatment plant for the eccivator slages is well going. Crocius is great, as you've always heard me talk about. I was reading in the paper they here eleven thousand people have moved into Canterbury, not just Chross Urch Canterbury in the last year, and eight thousand people have moved out of Auckland. So a lot of them are coming to christ Church and it's a great place to live and we've always known that and it's just starting to be spread it around them.
All right, what are you up to over summer?
I'm escaping up to our families, head a batch up. We'll walk away for the last sixty six years and I'm sixty five so I go out there with the with the grandkids and watch them stub their toe on the same rock I stub my toe on when I was five years old.
Just look after your tie, right, because you know you're not as flexible these days, you know, just.
With respect, I'm right by. I can't I argue with John.
I feel always good to catch up and we'll speak again on the new year.
You take care again, Feller, and you have a good break to and all your listeners.
For more from Catbory Mornings with John McDonald, listen live to news Talks It'd be christ Church from nine am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio