Councillors went behind closed doors this week to discuss rents for tenants living in Waipā District pensioner houses.
The likelihood of their rents rising is high because superannuation payments rose by more than seven per cent on April 1 to catch up with the cost of living. The council caps pensioner housing rents at 30 per cent of national superannuation, after taking the maximum accommodation supplement into account.
Councillors held their full meeting on Tuesday – the rent debate was one of 10 items listed in the public excluded segment. The public part of the meeting was completed in less than 30 minutes while the public excluded lasted about 85 minutes.
The News has raised questions about the amount of time councillors spend discussing issues in committee and in public excluded workshops/briefings and challenged the justification for discussing the rent issue in secret.
Council said it was to protect the privacy of residents who would be informed of any decision before it was made public.
The News argues the public has a right to see councillors debate issues of such interest to ratepayers.
The council owns 93 houses for 107 people in seven complexes in Cambridge, Kihikihi and Te Awamutu, according to the council’s website. Pensioner housing rent at Sherwin Village in Kihikihi is $266 for a single person and $280-$345 for a couple. In Te Awamutu’s Churchill Street, where there are seven one bedroom units, and Mangapiko Street, with three one bedroom units, costs are $266 for a single person and $310 for a couple. At Dallinger Court, Wallace Court, Dr Tod Court and Vaile Court in Cambridge residents pay $266 a week for a single person and between $285-$385 for a couple.
A total of 65 people are on a waiting list. A further 10 one-bedroom units are being built in Cambridge at Vaile Court and there are also plans to build more units in Te Awamutu.
The council’s housing for the elderly units are self-funded, not subsidised by rates, and market rental rates for the units are reviewed independently each year.
Couples over 65 now get an extra $102.84 in superannuation taking payments each fortnight to a net $1527.28, while individuals living alone receive $992.74, $66.86 more than before.
The payments are taxed. Pensioners also get a tax free Winter Energy Payment between May 1 and October 1 of $20.46 a week for single people and $31.82 for couples.
Waipā is one of few councils in New Zealand which still provides housing for older people in the community. The council reviewed its pensioner housing policy in 2017 and recommitted to providing and growing its housing for the elderly stock.
