Are we calling the council to help us with everything?

The danger with relying on city councils for assistance on everything is that they will empower themselves more and more to control your lives. Look at the UK to see an example of the all powerful micro dictatorships that have evolved.

Manukau City Council seem to use the resource act as a club to crack walnuts but the worst is the anonominity of the complaintant surely under the westminster system we have the right to be confronted by our accusers. i was harrassed by council officers to the point i had to sell up and move out of Manukau. the first complaint was a shotgun inother words no matter i did was still wrong or something else on my property did not comply. i feel councils do not vet the complaintants as to whether they are genuine or simply mischievious.

whitey - Yes the way that rates are gathered is hugely flawed. I suspect they don't change it because they are too lazy.

rates should be paid on how much loading is placed on the services so should be payed per head in the house this is truley user pays...why should someone living in a high value area pay more as the services they get are the same!

By Chris

John - If it wasn't for rates, you wouldn't have water, roads, sewage etc

Too right chris...But the current rates system is flawed with the people paying rates on the value of there property....
This is wrong as these rates are there to provide water,roads,sewage etc etc i dont see gold lined roads around st helliers there roads are the same as the ones over the hill in glenn inness and the water delivery is the same and the sewerage removal is the same...YET these poor people have to pay much more rates for no more better service than these low value areas get...so the rich pay for the poor...in this world of user pays this is wrong...as for example a coupple work hard all there lives and save and save finally they move to st helliers to retire...just the two of them using the user pays system then there rates should be based on two people cus they only put a two person loading on the services,only two people using the water system,sewarge system,roading system...user pays eh!...but no there rates are up around Eg: 3000 per year jet over the hill in these other houses the people are crammed in up to 10 per dewelling putting a loading of 10 people on the system and yet they only pay Eg:1000 in rates due to the value of the property...THIS IS NOT USER PAYS...the system is flawed
PLEASE correct me if i am wrong...

John - If it wasn't for rates, you wouldn't have water, roads, sewage etc

Why not ring the council to sort it. We pay them enough in rates.

....just a minute , I'll ring my local council for advice first...

i think that the concil has gotten so over the top out of control...that simply people are afraid to do anything without running it past the concil first...this is a result of there own doing!!!
i know some one who has a three year old house value 1.5 million..beautiful house...built to the plans singed off by the conucil...three years old went to get final code of compliance...a little bit late due to devorice...absoulety nothing wrong with this beautiful house...had final inspection...i was there at the time ...was told you have a beautiful house should be no problems to sign off...waited three months..sick of waiting...rang the conucil...was told in process...next week letter recived final not accepted...due to the fact that the conucil now wanted outside tiling done in a diffrent fasion(house built off plans)...TILER submited producer statment taking responsibilty for his tiling job and workman ship...tiling adhesive company marpei submited letter stating all the iso numbers and brandz approvial numbers all the govt approval numbers and stating that this product and tiling system used was gurranteed for 20years...WTF...still they refuse to sign off on the plans that were passed by them...im a plumber by trade and only after 4 years have seen how lopsided one eyed views the conucil has...they now look for any reason to not sign off on houses that have no problems...and now i hear that the flashing system they have for parapits is such that condensation is now forming inside the walls cus there too weather tight with no natural movement of air...and when you rap a house in breathable membrane any pentration has to be sealed...good thinking...but to attach this membraine builders have to staple thousands of tiny holes on to the cavity batterns each hole is a leak in this system...conucils kneejerk to the leaky house chrisus...they deserve what they get...no symponthy for the council from me!

yes I agree about not facing the neighbours part... I had noise control turn up for talking and laughing at 7pm at night... Very in brassing for him too tell my guest too keep it down.. Even the control officer who was on call... Xmas eve!!! Said he had just come from a BBQ and there was a lot more talking than we were there... All this aside if my Neighbour had said something too me I would have told them too keep it down myself.. And would of saved rate payers forking out too do it for for my Neighbour... As for the tui calls in the morning...And all the other nonsense calls.. Maybe some people should consider a retirement village or something like that if they cant put up with basic everyday noise and issues they have...