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Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Debt-funded grants wrong, councillor says
Tweaking rules to enable theatre venues not owned by the Dunedin City Council to be developed with council debt might be "clever", but also wrong, a councillor says. Cr Bill Acklin was not impressed with his colleagues when they changed the council's revenue and financing policy to enable a particular type of grant to be funded through borrowing, rather than rates. The change, approved last week, meant debt-funded grants could be provided to community organisations constructing or upgrading a building. This made it easier for the council to signal in its 2025-34 long-term plan (LTP) political will existed for spending $17.1 million on theatre space and it intended such grants to apply to redevelopment of the Playhouse Theatre and Athenaeum building, and potentially a new venue suitable for professional theatre. "To fund professional sectors using debt is not what council's ability to borrow is for," Cr Acklin said. He had stayed out of debates about theatre space because of a perceived conflict of interest but expressed thoughts after voting had occurred. Using debt for grants was "very clever", he said disapprovingly. Later in the meeting he said he believed it to be wrong. However, he was happy to see support for the Playhouse, which has a strong children's programme. Another councillor who did not take part in discussions, Lee Vandervis, said changing council policy "so that we can reclassify even more spending as capital" was shameless. He was absent because of hip surgery. He slammed colleagues for their "election-year splurge" on debt after the council added $96.9m of borrowing to the LTP during four days of discussion. Cr Sophie Barker said the debt-funded grants issue was "a useful exploration of how to support a non-council organisation to deliver a project in a building that isn't council-owned". "Otherwise, it would have gone directly on rates — this way it's able to be funded over a longer period of time as an 'intergenerational asset'. "There's a lot of checks and balances around the Playhouse and Athenaeum resolutions that won't allow any funds to be released by council until stringent conditions are met." Council debt is projected to rise by roughly $500m in the next nine years to $1.2 billion in 2034. Much of it is aimed at replacing or upgrading key Three Waters assets and transport infrastructure. The council included $17.1m in its 2021-31 LTP for development of theatre space, but removal of the allocation from draft budgets for its 2025-34 plan was controversial. Reinstating the money was one call last week that added to projected debt. Inclusion of some transport projects intended to reduce carbon emissions and deciding to replace the Edgar Centre roof were others. The council made one move late in deliberations to avoid adding to debt. It chose to start running balanced budgets from the first year of the LTP — a year earlier than had been envisaged — rather than posting another deficit. The council had looked as if it was headed for a rates increase of 10.1% for 2025-26, but having a balanced budget pushed the rates rise to 10.7%.
Otago Daily Times
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
DCC ‘party poopers' nix fireworks
The 2017 new year was celebrated with a fireworks display in the Octagon in Dunedin. Photo Peter McIntosh Calls to reinstate a fireworks display for Dunedin's New Year's Eve celebrations have been snuffed out. Dunedin has not had a council-run pyrotechnics display at the annual event since welcoming in 2021 and this will not change for bringing in 2026. The Dunedin City Council voted 9-6 yesterday against reinstating fireworks. After mixed reviews for laser and light shows, a plan was pitched for a large fireworks display from Robin Hood Park in the Dunedin Town Belt. It would have been visible from the Octagon, and much of the city, but did not win enough endorsement from councillors. The council is instead poised to "reimagine" the event, such as by incorporating local themes or taking inspiration from Edinburgh's Hogmanay festival. Cr Steve Walker said reinstating fireworks would be backward-looking. "In my view, fireworks need to be consigned to where they belong and they belong in history." They should be replaced by contemporary, less-antisocial alternatives, he said. Cr Walker was worried about potential harm to wildlife from a fireworks display and that it might "defile, ravage and contaminate our Town Belt". Some people liked to be critical of "nice-to-haves", but were happy for the council to "explode their rates money and watch that money go up in six minutes of smoke", he said. The cost of a fireworks show was quoted at $45,000, while the existing alternative of projection mapping in the Octagon had cost $40,000, a report for councillors said. Cr Bill Acklin said he would have liked to see fireworks synched with music. "Fireworks, to the multitudes, are very, very popular," he said. "The time is right to do it again." Cr Brent Weatherall lamented the council had decided to be "party poopers". The fireworks proposal had come to the council because of public feedback, he said. After listening to arguments against fireworks, Cr Jim O'Malley was exasperated. "I think it's fun. Levity, bringing in the new year, a spirit of happiness — seriously, folks." Mayor Jules Radich said he was in the Octagon for the start of this year and bringing back fireworks was the most common subject raised with him. The last time the council ran a pyrotechnics display for a New Year's Eve event was to bring in 2021. New Year's Eve festivities in the Octagon to bring in 2022 were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic and light and laser shows have been run the past three years as an alternative to fireworks. Cr Sophie Barker had doubts about the value of mapping projections. "I think we need to reimagine New Year's Eve," she said. "I don't believe we need to copy other cities and centres with me-too fireworks. "I think we need to create something uniquely ourselves." Deputy mayor Cherry Lucas said the city celebrations should have a point of difference. Reinstating fireworks How they voted.— For (6): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Bill Acklin, David Benson-Pope, Carmen Houlahan, Jim O'Malley, Brent Weatherall. Against (9): Crs Cherry Lucas, Sophie Barker, Christine Garey, Kevin Gilbert, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem, Lee Vandervis, Steve Walker, Andrew Whiley.
