Tim Brown: Wellington City Councillor 'not convinced' the council needs a Crown observer

There's scepticism from some as to whether a Crown observer will help Wellington City Council.

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown is appointing an observer over concerns for the council's financial management.

But councillor Tim Brown says many councillors think it will provide advice and help them work together better, but he's not convinced.

Tim Brown says he thinks Simeon Brown's putting the observer there to undermine the council.

"He's put somebody in the room so that they can go to him and say - hey Simeon, it's not working, let's fire these guys and move on."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good afternoon. As predicted, the government has decided to appoint
a Crown observer after all to Wellington Council. The Minister's
explained what he's worried about. He's worried about counselors walking
out of meetings, counselors confused about decisions, counselors criticizing each
other publicly, and the council overcharging rate payers currently as
much as seven hundred million dollars over the next ten
years for fixing the pipes.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Now.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Tim Brown is a Wellington City councilor.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hi, Tim, good, how are you.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
I'm very well, thank you? How are you? What did
I tell you? Tim? What did I tell you?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
I know you're either you're way better connected or you're
fable or a seat than I am. Well does I
do not see this coming, though, Tim, because I think
I misinterpreted. I mean, I think some people are at
the council table did, but I think that I personally
thought it wasn't necessary, but I realized that basically what
the Minister has done is appoint subody to inform him.

(00:50):
So you know, there's a lot of rhetoric about the
observers going to help us. You arrive at the right decisions.
Blah blah blah. But at the end of the day,
he's put somebody in the road so that they can
go to him and say, hey, saman it's not working
to fire these guys and move on. So I hadn't
quite thought he needed to have somebody because I thought

(01:12):
that ze B would have done a good enough job
to keep him reform.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
So thanks, Tim, thanks for crediting us. No, but I mean,
can you see what this is, Tim, Because this is
the first step towards commissioners. Right, that person will be
appointed as basically a knak to the government. So unless
you guys start making sound financial decisions, it gets upgraded
to full taking over the whole show.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, that's exactly right. That is precisely on the money, right,
so we won't be having to bet on that one.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah, Well, explain something to me because I am also
now curious about something that Simeon Brown has pointed out here.
He's quite concerned about how you guys are funding your
pipe fixing. So he says only six percent of the
pipe fixing, that sixty six million dollars is coming through
debt and the rest over a billion dollars is coming
through rates. Why have you struck it like that.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
The first thing I'd say, just sort of macro level,
is that within council you can I sure can probably
imagine councilors always wanted their fun things. They always wanted
their fun because of course they don't have pits up
today's rate players. So there's you know, a massive propensity
to want a debt fund if you possibly can. So

(02:24):
there's there's definitely no lack of will not me. And
I'm saying because I'm an extreme fiscal conservative and I
don't believe in council having lots of debt, and I
see the whole long term plan exercise being to cut debt,
not to increase debt. So it's kind of where that
the minister is now saying.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
But Tim, why this is important is that he, in
the wake of the wake of three Waters, has set
up a funding program that gives you cheap debt for
exactly this.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
No, but it's a it's not cheap because if you borrow,
you know, a million dollars, you do have to repay
the million dollars and you have to pay interest on
top of a million dollars. So it's you know, it's
all there is just cost deferred, it's not a cost avoided.
And the reality is that it's very complicated. And as
I say that round the council table, there is always

(03:12):
enthusiasm debt fund things if possible. So the advice we've
received from our offices is that we have to do
it this particular way. And there are lots of other
actiguating reasons why this particular number, which is plucked out
of a much more comp comprehensive piece of financial information,
is actually fundamentally incorrect.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
I'm a bit worried about it.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, but I's going to say relative City Council is
not out there foolishly whacking current rate payers where it
could actually be doing it by way of debt and
making some future bunch of ratepayers who will have a
different bunch of councilors paid. We are definitely not. If
you like deferring the use of debt, we're using as

(03:55):
much debt as we possibly can and back too much.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Are you going to scrap the OLDEMAR project?

Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well you can be certain that I personally would. I mean,
but again, this is where the council wars have to
actually slug it out because There are definitely at least
half a dozen of us who would happily cab the
whole thing tomorrow. But half a dozen doesn't give you
a majority. So this is where Tory's trading is going
to have to come off. Because, as you know, the

(04:23):
Gold and Miner has got two components. It's got the
Courtney Place component, which is highly developed and all ready
to go almost and then you have the key end
and I personally would like to get rid of both
parts of it. But some counselors would happily go, Okay,
we've got to do something a courty places to sort
that out and get rid of the rest. But that's

(04:44):
that's the trading which Tory is going to have to organize.

Speaker 1 (04:47):
Yeah, hey, so next year for the beer once I've
had this baby, or come have a beer with you.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
No, it's champagne. I'm definitely buying here a champagne. You've
got two babies, you deserve champagne.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
You're upgrading it, Tim, Do you know what I can?
I can? I mean, I'm worried about your your financial
nowse just upgrading me for free. But I'm going to
take you up on that. Well, of course, very good
point Jim, thank you very much mate. Look after yourself.
Tim Brown, Wellington City councilor For more from Hither Duplessy

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