BERNIE Harris refuses to pay his rates.
The Brooklyn resident is in arrears $686.98, as of December last year.
“The mayor says if we don’t pay rates then we won’t be able to pay for services. If I’m not going to use the services why should I pay for the rates?” says Harris.
“We are subsidising the vested interests of the few – a $49million indoor sports complex. If people aren’t going to use it and can’t get to it why should they be paying for it?”
The council has begun construction of the sports centre at Cobham Park in Kilbirnie, due for completion July 2011.
Harris is a member of the Federation of Wellington Progressive and Residents’ Associations – an umbrella organisation for residents associations of Wellington.
As part of the Federation he helped compile a summary of things Wellingtonians would have liked to see included in the Long Term Council Community Plan.
“From a Federation perspective we started all the preparatory work in the middle of 2008. We thought we were working with the council and summarised the views of five meetings around the city but when the final document was prepared they’d ignored the community.”
Wellington City Council communications advisor Richard MacLean says he is not allowed to comment on the affairs of an individual ratepayer.
MacLean compares rates to paying taxes.
“You are not necessarily going to benefit from every dollar.”
MacLean adds the council doesn’t agree with Harris’ statements on the LTCCP process, and describes it as “fair and transparent”.
“A lot of people don’t agree with decisions the council make and when people are passionate about council decisions they should get involved.”