Setting the sights high
Mayoral candidate John Funnell has been doing a lot of talking recently.
By Chris Marshall
More to the public than the media to whom he would often front when advocating for the air ambulance service in Taupō.
But the former high-profile helicopter pilot felt he was certainly beginning to experience the public side of what could again become a more public life.
“Because I'm readily available people wander in and start telling me of their issues, and it's been one of the interesting aspects. I've quite enjoyed talking to people and saying: ‘what concerns you in the district?’”
He felt people hadn’t necessarily been kept abreast by the Taupō District Council of what was “coming down the line.”
“It's pretty easy to make comments like that, but I think there is some justification... Of course, a lot of this stuff is on the council website, but… there appear to be some recent instances where things changed, and the public weren't aware of it.”
Funnell felt the water reforms might see more work shifted on to local bodies by central government, but without additional money.
“While I've made statements, I'm there to keep the rates down and do what I can to manage them, I'm not wanting to make excuses before I start, but I know it's going to be a challenge, particularly with more responsibility likely to fall on local councils.”
He believed Taupō was better off than places which had deferred upgrades or maintenance.
“Definitely the councillors and management of the Taupō District Council have been pretty active in that area, and I think we've been lucky that there was a bit of foresight… but… we're going to have to view where the rates money goes.
“We will be forced to make cutbacks, and of course, that's my area of expertise in the business world. A lot of the companies I got involved with, well, first of all, the big company I got involved with was getting the rescue helicopters set up, and there was no budget at all.”
He has a history of taking on struggling companies and restructuring them.
“That's one of my strong areas. I could not have done any of this without the right people around me to make the changes and implement them, and that's what I bring to the table. And hopefully, we get a good team of councillors in this election that work collaboratively together to look at cost control.”
There were a lot of ways this might happen, he said.
“It can be depreciation not recovered or accounted for, and it can be deferring maintenance which is not a good place to be... but the things like the nice to haves, and I'm not quite sure what they are until I get there. As opposed to the need to haves… they have to be there and they have to be operational. Other services are important, obviously, the public want them, but some difficult choices are going to have to be made.”
He agreed the deferred draft joint management agreement (JMA) between council and Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board had turned into a divisive issue and would require relationship rebuilding.
“I've already started down that track. It is essential that we work together and collaborate. It is pretty obvious in my talking to the public there's been quite a parting of the ways, and we need to repair that… It’s going to take time and patience and cooperation.”
He felt more briefings might be required to increase public understanding of the JMA.
“I suspect it's going to require quite a bit of work to get it up to a level that the public are going to say ‘we're happy with it’.
“I appreciate what it's trying to do. No one would argue with trying to protect the quality of the water and the environment we live in, the rivers and the lake… I think what's concerning a lot of people is that there have been changes made which have not been consulted adequately.”
Controlling rate rises and helping young families into homes were also important, he said.
This might not mean council developing subdivisions, “but… making it simple to get resource consent and building consent in a timely and cost-effective manner. I don't know enough about it myself, but it's an area that we need to look at.”
Assisting businesses would also help, he said.
“And what am I going to do? I don't know. I'm keen to get my feet under the table with the fellow councillors and look at the issues and find solutions… One of my strong points is looking at what are the options and discussing and getting the best option to go forward.”
While seeking the mayoralty was a big project, Funnell said he was committed to getting across the line, running it “pretty much”, on his own with his partner Chrissie.