Joe Bell’s approach: fairness, without fear or favour
Joe Bell will finish a 15-year period of service on the Golden Bay Community Board at next week’s meeting. Photo: Neil Wilson.
After its upcoming election, the Golden Bay Community Board will take on a new look.
The most noticeable change will be that Joe Bell will not be in the chair. After five terms on the board, Joe has decided to stand down, citing the saving of $14,400 as the main reason for his decision.
“I always said that I’d never leave the board in the lurch,” says Joe. “When there were only three nominations on the website I was happy to stand, but when I saw that there were going to be five if I stood I decided to withdraw. The community was going to be charged the $14,400 for the board election, but now it won’t. The only difference is one piece of paper—the board election paper. That’s what was going to cost Golden Bay $14,400 and it really sticks in my craw. It’s illegal, unethical and unfair.
“The Local Electoral Act says that council must supply the cost of the elections, the ratepayers already bear the cost through the general rate and Golden Bay would have had to pay the same amount as Motueka. We would have paid $4 for each of our voter papers while the people of Motueka are paying $1.89 for each of theirs. So even between the two communities with boards it’s not fair, but the bottom line is that we should both be paying nothing. There are going to be elections whether there are community boards or not.”
When The GB Weekly visited Joe to talk about his decision to stand down and his feelings about his five terms on the board, he was typically very busy. He had just finished working on an 11-page analysis and critique of a report that TDC CEO Paul Wylie had prepared for a council meeting. Mr Wylie’s paper was on the subject of community boards and community associations, and Joe was anxious to provide an alternative view for councillors before they made any decisions about delegation.
“It’s really important that the councillors know we are holding them to account by checking the accuracy of the information on which they’re expected make decisions.”
It’s clear that, though Joe may be finishing soon, the issues he has fought long and hard on are still very dear to his heart.
The GB Weekly sent Joe a list of questions and issues to think about before our interview, and he typically gave measured responses to them all.
Explain what you see as the role of local government and why you think it’s so important.
Community boards have a vital place in local governance, especially in Golden Bay where we are remote from the Richmond office and have a large ward with a small population. It is recognised that the most responsive local governance is as close to the individual as possible. Local government affects us all on a daily basis.
Do you remember why you first made yourself available for office?
We have always been involved in “service”. My paternal great-grandfather was city treasurer in Christchurch. My father worked in council administration. I worked in the public service for 25 years, too. We have served on Playcentre, school committee, council and board of trustees. When we retired we joined Forest and Bird, the tramping club, Golden Bay Promotions, etc.
I became interested in planning issues through owning our land in Milnthorpe and through Forest and Bird and GB Promotions, where I became the resource management advocate. I stood for the board in 1995 when Derry Kingston stood down. I wanted to make a positive contribution and had the time to do so.
What has been the philosophical basis on which your service has been based?
My philosophical approach is inclusiveness, openness, transparency and fairness, without fear or favour.
Tell us about the situation in which the community board ended up offside with both parties in a neighbourhood dispute.
Not all efforts work out. We called a meeting to help with a neighbourhood dispute. After hearing the views of all of the parties we worked out a way forward, which all agreed with on the night. The next day the agreement fell to pieces and we were offside with both factions and the TDC, who had overseen the process complained about. At least no one could fairly accuse us of bias.
What are the things you are most pleased to have been part of? Decisions, improvements, projects, policies, campaigns?
A large number come to mind: (we were able to include only a sample - Ed) Stream Care – when I first took the issue of riparian planting to the board in about 1998 I couldn’t get a seconder for my motion – now it’s mainstream. The purchase of the Village Green and associated artwork. Keep Golden Bay Beautiful planting projects throughout the Bay. The Pohara and Rototai paths. The Mangarakau Swamp. Aquaculture. Collingwood and Onekaka Halls. Management plans for Abel Tasman Foreshore reserve, Te Waikoropupu Springs, and the Abel Tasman and Kahurangi National Parks. DOC community forums. Coast Care. Gibbs Road footpath and walkway. Extended public forums and ensuring that all board members were welcome at agenda-setting meetings. Efforts to overturn the TDC decision to abolish community boards. Efforts to overturn the targeted rate on communities with community boards. The new library and carpark. Encouraging Fonterra to rebuild the factory.
The general rate once covered almost all the administration, services and projects, but it doesn’t now. Why is that? How much does council indebtedness worry you?
Huge administration cost. $277,000 for a CEO is ridiculous, especially when a strategic manager has also been employed. When I go to council meetings in Richmond I look around and see good people as individuals but collectively the council has become a monster. The burgeoning debt is a real worry. The corporate services agendas contain a huge list of payments to consultants and the like. Council used to cover most things from the general rate. Nowadays this barely covers the cost of admin with high user charges for services and debt for projects. It was outrageous for TDC to pay the CEO over $41,000 for relocation costs.
What do you think are the biggest issues facing the incoming community board?
Securing the role and defeating the targeted rate. Not succumbing to more targeted rates for projects that should be done under the “think district” banner. Continuing to seek delegation. Not being bullied by a sociopathic council. Seeking our fair share of resources to do the things that are essential. Not to be drawn into a facilities rate project which is driven by the carrot of debt rather than actual need. Councils strive to keep ratepayers tied to the company store. Retaining a service centre in Takaka. Seeking a compliance officer to be stationed in Golden Bay to cover resource consent conditions, monitoring freedom camping, dog control, effluent disposal, water quality, etc. Not being captured by the corporation of council in the way that the mayor and the councillors have been. Seeking a Golden Bay marine management plan.
I would ask the incoming board members to always remember that they are representing residents and ratepayers in an area with low median incomes and high costs.
Neil Wilson
