Four mayoral hopefuls open debate | Oamaru News | Local News in Oamaru

The first Waitaki mayoral debate of the current local body elections attracted about 60 people yesterday.

The forum, hosted by the Otago Chamber of Commerce and Otago Daily Times in the North Otago Club, lasted for 90 minutes.

More questions were still coming from the audience when the meeting was wrapped up.

The four candidates - current Mayor Alex Familton, current Deputy Mayor Gary Kircher, long-time campaigner Bruce Cawley, and newcomer Ralph Burrell - introduced themselves then fielded a mix of questions from the floor and those sent in to the organisers beforehand.

While some questions were specific to individual ratepayers' grievances, most asked for the candidates' stance on controversial local issues.

The prospect of having "user pays" public toilets found favour with Mr Burrell, who said bus passengers using Oamaru's toilets contributed nothing to the local rates.

He also said using contractors to clean public toilets was too expensive a system - it would be better for the council to buy materials in bulk and supply them to a hired employee.

Mr Cawley said providing free toilets was a core service for the council.

And they should be open around the clock, not closed between dusk and dawn.

Mr Familton said user pays was not as attractive as people may think, as the coin meters cost thousands of dollars and could malfunction, resulting in people being locked in.

Mr Kircher said user pays should be considered case by case. The toilets in Omarama, for example, would be ideal for user pays, as they mainly served bus passengers who stopped only to use them.

The council needed to weigh up how much local versus visitor use each toilets had, he said.

The candidates were asked what they thought about closing Beach Rd, which is being eroded by the sea.

Mr Kircher said it had been recreated twice since he had been on the council, but it could not afford to keep doing that.

The council was looking at erosion protection options and would see if they were affordable; if not, the road would have to be closed.

Mr Cawley said the erosion could never be stopped, and with rising sea levels it was likely to worsen.

He believed the best option was to continue with the current detour along Gardiners Rd, but it needed to be improved to a full two lanes.

Mr Familton said the whole nation owned the coastline, and central government should contribute to a solution.

The council was putting together a hazard group including engineers to consider new technology, he said.

He had "a great deal of sympathy" for the people directly affected by the erosion.

Mr Burrell said all the facts needed to be pulled together before any decision was made on Beach Rd's future. Engineers should be consulted, and the government should also be called upon. If the options were not economical, they could not be taken up, he said.

Federated Farmers North Otago president Ross Ewing asked candidates what they would do to bring in a rates system that was fairer to the rural sector.

Mr Cawley said he did not see how the council could justify making farmers pay for urban amenities such as the public library and Oamaru Opera House.

Mr Familton said business and agriculture paid a huge slice of Waitaki rates. The rating formula was tied to land values, but the council was talking to Federated Farmers about possible changes.

Central government would also have to be involved in a policy change, as "its rating formulas are outdated and antiquated", he said.

Mr Burrell said Federated Farmers needed to hold direct talks with the council to discuss what would be fairer.

Rates should not depend on wealth, he said.

It was important for the council to consult with groups like the federation which had detailed information available.

Mr Kircher said it was a complex situation and the council had "fairly blunt tools" to use. He wanted a review of the current system, including a government overhaul.

When asked if they would consider holding council meetings later in the day or in the evenings, and having them televised, all candidates said "yes" and "yes".