the relativity of rates
DESCRIPTION
Local government for a connected world. Presentation for EGovBarCamp, Wellington, September 2007.TRANSCRIPT
The Relativity of Rateslocal government for a connected world
mark rickerby, http://maetl.coretxt.net.nz
Wellington, 2007
● Residential rates for properties are based on their current market value
● 30 years ago you could have bought a house in city suburbs for $80,000-$200,000
● That house may now be worth over $500,00● Rates will have increased to reflect this – but
your usage of infrastructure and local services may not have changed at all!
What is happening?
● The ratio between commercial and residential rates is changing
● Currently, commercial properties pay $4.2 for every $1 paid by residential properties
● That ratio is changing to $2.8 to $1● Less commercial money in the kitty!● Prospect of 50% of residential rates to service
council debts over the next 7 years
Where do rates go?
● Find out!– http://www.wellington.govt.nz/services/rates/search/search.html
How much do we really know?
● Ratepayers are faceless account numbers– What does the Base General Rate go towards?
Open residential data
● The history of every property on every street is listed and mapped...
Homogenized locality
● ... but every property is treated in the same generic way
● The WCC website is a fantastic resource but completely un(der) personalized
● Where does the Base General Rate go again?
Are residents customers?
● The Council has a monopoly – you must pay rates
● Council rates policy is focused on their own strategic objectives
● But what about the strategic objectives of residents?
● Democratically, the Council should be accountable to residents
Investing in locality
● Residents need to have more say in how their general rates are being spent
● Democracy doesn't have to be just about voting every three years
● Residents should be able to see direct returns in their local area
● Potential for 1-4% of the base general rate to be directed towards localized community funds
Decentralizing regional investment
● Residents of individual streets or housing clusters could have a choice in how a portion of their rates gets spent
● Enabling infrastructure upgrades, street plantings, installations, sculptures, suburban libraries
● Collect ideas from residents for community projects they want in their area
● Allow them to filter % of their rates towards these funds
Decentralizing regional investment
● These ideas need the web if they are to work effectively
● Residents could log in to a “MyStreet” account
● Precise visual breakdown of their rates charges
● Tools for directing a part of their annual payment towards community projects of their choice
Community
● This isn't just the cliché of a web community, it's an actual community of neighbourhoods
● Awareness of local issues● Awareness of who is who in a suburb● Civil defence networks
– one day, Wellington is going to need this
● Uses the web in a read-write capacity, not database silos or static information pages
Property development
● Lengthy resource consent process, long list of disputes between property owners
● Window rights! Should property owners have a say in retaining the outlook of their building?
● Public access to development and extension proposals - informs owners of planned development in their location
● Resolve conflicts before they even start
Socially networked urban planning
● Would urban planners, council representatives, property developers, architects, and residents actually be able to communicate and co-operate effectively?
● That's unlikely – but in this case, the means are the ends
● On the web, public processes are much more visible - nothing gets lost in the paperwork
● Increasing awareness through access
MyStreet: digital neighbourhoods
● The Council already has the data and the platform, just not the interface
● Each location has specific concerns beyond the general issues facing all Wellingtonians
● Online spaces provide the possibility for collaboratively solving these concerns
MyStreet: answering questions
● Personalize it!● Who are my neighbours?● What is the state of the infrastructure in my
neighbourhood? ● What planned developments are there in my
neighbourhood?● What projects can I contribute to?
Where to start...
● Bottom-up vs Top-down organization?● Baby steps...● Map ratepayers accounts to personalized
online services● Bubble up data from various information silos● City wide survey of residents opinions on
e-government
Thank you!● http://www.wellington.govt.nz
● http://maetl.coretxt.net.nz/local-govt-for-connected-world
● http://lightboxgallery.net.nz/words/the-relativity-of-rates/