Debt levels at Horowhenua District Council have spiralled to $99million

And they are nit picking over Mayor Feyen helping the local Brass Band pay their insurance among other worthy causes with nary a mention of the Raukawa payout aka bribe to allow them to spray human sewage over all of those pesky wahi tapu paying lip service to their Treaty partnership. And let’s not forget the gift of $1.86 mill to Willis & Bond property developers who purchased the pensioner housing at a fire sale price.

By Veronica Harrod

Debt levels at Horowhenua District Council have spiraled to $99million.

A Quarterly Treasury report by Council’s treasury advisors – Bancorp Treasury Services Limited – said, “As of Thursday 26 July, HDC has now got $99m in debt.”

The quarterly report also said Council’s net debt prediction in the Long Term Plan of $81 million by year end is based on the assumption of property sales of $7 million, new and improved asset purchases of $22 million and cash of $11 million by the end of 2018.

Also included in the Finance, Audit and Risk sub-committee agenda of 1 August was Council’s draft 12 month financial report to June 2018 which shows council spent $827,000 of a projected $956,000 budget on economic development projects that are not publicly detailed.

The draft 12 month report also serves as a stark reminder Council spends almost three times more on ‘economic development’ than ‘community development’ which had a forecasted budget of $361,000 compared with actual budget of $348,000.

SOURCE

The Special Ed Epidemic: What is happening to our children? Part 1 of 4 part series

From healthnutnews.com

By Sheri A. Marino, MA, CCC-SLP, from WMP Partner: Focus for Health

WMP Note: In this 4-part series, World Mercury Project partner, Focus For Health,  examines the special needs epidemic and its effects on schools, the US economy, life after age 21 and the many theories that point to potential causes of the explosion of chronic disease and disability in our children.

Pick up a paper anywhere in the world and you are more than likely to see a story about the special needs epidemic affecting public schools.

RELATED STORY:

The Hushed Chronic Disease and Disability Epidemic That Promises to Bankrupt America

Recent headlines read “Wolf Creek Public Schools hires additional staff to work with severely disabled students” and “York school system nearly $1M over budget in special education spending,” and “7 EV teen suicides in 6 weeks alarm schools,” and, “How Vermont schools manage food allergies.”

If you take the time to read some of these disturbing articles, you will see quotes from school directors making comments like “What’s different from past years is the students we’ve received really do have severe, very particular learning needs that are well beyond what we would typically see. It caught us by surprise, for sure,” admits Jayson Lovell, Superintendent for Wolf Creek Public Schools. This school district is one example of districts needing to hire additional staff in order to accommodate a sharp rise in the number of students requiring services through IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) due to their severely complex special education needs.

Every child with or without special needs is affected, just as every tax payer, with or without a child with special needs, will bear the burden.

READ MORE

https://www.healthnutnews.com/the-special-ed-epidemic-what-is-happening-to-our-children-part-1-of-4-part-series/

Is Local Government in New Zealand Corrupt?

This is right on topic and worth a re-visit in light of recent goings on around the country. We as a nation have adopted such a time worn clean green image, it doesn’t occur to many that the reality of the image died long ago, especially with only 40% of our rivers now clean enough to swim in. The clean and green has spilled over long ago into every area of our lives to the extent most Kiwis wouldn’t dream of believing corporations lie to us. Invited over a year ago to speak to a group of senior cits about Smart Meters (aka here as Advanced Meters) my information was greeted in some corners with snickers and whispers. We are a very trusting nation, particularly that generation. That was great three and four decades ago. It isn’t any more. If you are that trusting now you are fair game and seen as simply a sucker. I watch with angst as I see it played out before me … the elderly treated as cash cows by enterprising and unscrupulous business people, and particularly real estate agents. If you’re snickering now please go and watch The Corporation documentary (halfway down the ‘Corporations’ page). That will make you stop. Not to get off topic here (I could say much more but I won’t) … our District Councils have come under much scrutiny of late with many particularly savvy people holding them to the lip service they tend to pay on their websites. Check out our Local Government Watch pages on the site menu for some of the happenings around your country Kiwis. All is not as good as many believe. Listen to the story of the man in Rodney who exposed the corruption in his District Council. He lost his home and business. Certain ones will deal to those who rock the boat it seems.

The following article is from the Whale Oil blog and raises some important data to ponder on.
EnvirowatchRangitikei

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by Cameron Slater on August 21, 2015 
With three officers from Auckland Council CCO – Auckland Transport – now set to go on trial for bribery it is a convenient opportunity to raise the issue of corruption in local authorities.

Most ordinary citizens have no idea that corruption is rife. But there are varying types of corrupt behaviour and unless one is familiar with the law they can be overlooked.

Two of the most common forms of corruption occur so often you think it’s normal.

These two particular forms of corruption do not result in personal gain – such as back pocketing cash. But they do result in breaking the law, and they happen daily.

 

The first is ‘malfeasance’ and the second is ‘misfeasance’.

Both are the abuse of authority – or the position of authority.

These generally occur by breaking the rule of law. In NZ the laws that generally govern Local Government are the LGA (Local Government Act) and the RMA (Resource Management Act). Some other laws like the Public Works Act are part and parcel as well.

Breaking the law for ordinary citizens results in penalties. If caught it can do the same for those in local government but nobody is policing them so nothing happens.

READ MORE

http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2015/08/is-local-government-in-new-zealand-corrupt/

The “Brilliance” of John Key

 

 

Dave Kennedy

Leaders of other conservative Government’s look at John Key’s continued popularity with envy. New Zealand’s National Government has the same agenda as most other conservative governments and yet despite New Zealand’s richest blatantly continuing to capture a greater share of the country’s wealth and government services being increasingly reduced and privatised, the Prime Minister remains popular…

John Key’s government has managed to continue the work begun by Ruth Richardson and has obviously learned from Jenny Shipley’s mistake of not ensuring public acceptance of drastic welfare change. Ruth Richardson’s Mother of All Budgets is regarded as the most significant step in dismantling our welfare state. Drastically cutting welfare benefits was a deliberate strategy to drive down wage costs. It was Richardson’s belief that maintaining unemployment at around 5% and keeping welfare payments low, workers would then be more likely to accept lower wages. Child poverty was around 8% pre 1991 but escalated to 15% by 1992. While there was some reduction under the previous Labour Government, with the introduction of the Working for Families tax credit, child poverty is now close to 30% in 2016.

READ MORE 

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EnvirowatchRangitikei