LUND Russell - Candidate profile
Affiliation: Independent
My principal place of residence is in the Dunedin City Council area.
I am standing for Council for one main reason - The DCC is in a financial crisis. The DCC has an unsustainable annual operating budget of over $460 million, with over 1200 staff. This is nearly double the staff level per capita of an efficiently run Council such as the Nelson City Council.
It's unsustainable because contrary to the law, DCC has borrowed millions to fund its operating costs, in the last 2 years, to reduce the still extreme rates increases. DCC debt levels are unsustainable. The DCC has acknowledged that without this borrowing the rates increases this year would have been in excess of 30%. These unsustainable rates increases will cause businesses to leave Dunedin, and many people on fixed incomes will be unable to afford either to rent or to continue to own their homes in Dunedin. We must fix this to have a sustainable, vibrant city.