Vote McCann – A Mayor That CAN.

Kapiti needs fresh leadership. If we’re serious about controlling rates, we must lead by example – and not approve $50,000 pay rises for a new CEO just one year into the job.

Leadership starts at the top. As your Mayor, I’ll be open, transparent, and accountable. I’ll end closed-door decision-making, empower community boards, ensure your voice is heard – and bring much-needed financial discipline to the mayoralty.

I’ll back projects that deliver value for our community – but if something doesn’t stack up, I won’t support it. With experience in both the public and private sectors – including running my own business, leading an NGO, and working in a Cabinet Minister’s office – I offer the fresh leadership Kapiti needs now.

As your Mayor, I will make sure that when we spend your money, we spend it wisely.
That starts with asking a simple question of every dollar: is this a necessity, or just a nice-to-have?

To me, the basics come first – roading, water, and waste. But I also believe a community we’re proud to call home needs more than just the essentials. Libraries, pools, playgrounds, parks, and community events all play a vital role in making Kāpiti vibrant and connected.

That’s why I will not support cuts to pool or library opening hours unless there’s demonstrable (or significant/clear) support by the community. These facilities aren’t luxuries – they’re the heart of our community.

Where I do see a problem is with budgets that deliver vague outcomes at unaffordable or bloated costs. For example, the current idea is to outsource Economic Development possibly committing $1.3 million each year for ten years without clear measures of success.

At the same time, the sitting mayoral candidates Janet Holborough, Liz Koh approved a $50,000 pay rise for the Chief Executive after just one year, and signed off on a $43,000 Harvard Business School course. That’s an extra $93,000 of a CE that’s already paid over $300,000 while rates have risen by 35.6% over the past three years. As of yet no one has been able to explain how that “investment” will lead to reduced costs or rates.

Tightening the belt starts at the top with leadership. $93,000 is more than most of the staff get paid at KCDC and shows how absurdly out of touch our current leadership is.

What we need is prudent, sensible decision-making putting residents first.

The Long Term Plan (LTP)
The key to good planning is The Long Term Plan (LTP) is the most important planning process in council’s three-year term. Unfortunately, it is too often rushed, leaving elected members with little real opportunity to shape outcomes. As Mayor, I will ensure the LTP is given the time, transparency, and rigour it deserves, so we can make clear, well-informed decisions about what we truly need, what we can afford, and how we build a better future for Kāpiti.

The current system is broken. In the last triennium, one councillor admitted that “it wasn’t obvious at the time” when referring to the cost implications of major decisions. When I served on council, my own experience was of being herded from one paddock to another, with fewer and fewer choices available. Too often the process felt like an illusion, driven more by staff than by your elected representatives.

This has to change. We need to flip the process on its head, putting elected members and the community back at the centre. That could mean exploring new approaches, such as citizens’ assemblies, to involve the community earlier in shaping the LTP. When the community helps set the direction, the council is better equipped to deliver a plan that is both affordable and widely supported.

Kāpiti is growing rapidly – but without proper planning, we risk getting it wrong.
We need a clear vision for our town centres, more industrial space, and a Mayor who will actively bring major developers and the community together around the same table. The current siloed decision-making, done behind closed doors, is failing our community. I’ll end that. In my time on council I demonstrated the ability to bring those parties together.

Communities must be part of the process.
Excluding community board chairs from council briefings undermines the very purpose of having community boards. As Mayor, I will ensure our communities are properly informed and have genuine opportunities to participate in decision-making. That means including community board chairs in key discussions and making briefing and workshop materials proactively available to the public. Transparency builds trust and stronger communities.

Housing intensification has gone off track.
As housing councillor from 2021-2023, I helped update the District Plan to allow greater density in areas with access to public transport and shops. That made sense. But the government overrode local planning with Plan Change 2 – a blunt instrument that forced through infill housing where it doesn’t belong. Now we’re seeing intensive development in areas like Waikanae beach that never would have been approved under our plan. For that, we can thank Wellington and the current council for not pushing back.

Council may be stuck legally, but secrecy is the wrong response. Public-excluded meetings and shutting out community board chairs only breed mistrust. Our council must be open with people and trust the public with information.

There is a better way.
When I was on council, we put forward a District Plan that supported growth, particularly around transport hubs. Auckland faced the same challenge we do with Plan Change 2, but with strong leadership, they negotiated a bespoke agreement with government. We can do the same – balancing the needs of future homeowners with those who already call Kāpiti home. Why should Auckland succeed while we stay silent? As your mayor I will make it my priority as part of a regional deal to negotiate an agreement around housing development that supports our growth but also has community support.

Honest leadership matters.
In my own neighbourhood, I asked the Mayor and CE at a public meeting if they would consider a master plan for Otaihanga, where significant development was happening without coordination. The mayor avoided answering the question. As your mayor, I won’t dodge the hard conversations. If there’s bad news, I’ll be straight with you and own it.

You have my word: I’ll fight for proper planning, honest answers, and open communication – so we don’t end up with haphazard development imposed on Kāpiti by government directives and a silent council. Step 1, get agreement from new councillors and the community. Step 2, get agreement from Government for a bespoke solution. I did it with the KCDC Housing Strategy and I’ll do it as Mayor.

Managing Council’s Finances Responsibly

Some costs are unavoidable. The price of roading and three waters has risen massively, and council is already self-insuring where it can. But there are areas where we can make smarter choices.

One option is to ease back on fully funding depreciation – sweating assets a little longer before replacement – and deferring all non-essential capital expenditure. This means we’ll need to find external funding to deliver a new indoor sports centre and be smarter and more cost-effective about how we deliver community facilities. Council could also look to offload any surplus land that was part of a land audit that occurred when I was on council and use that money to pay down debt.

Local Government New Zealand

Council also spends $61,467 a year on membership with Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), plus $33,944 on attending the conferences this year alone. With eight councils already pulling out and LGNZ failing to lobby government effectively, we need to ask: are ratepayers really getting value, or are we funding what’s become little more than an old boys’ club for retired politicians?

Staffing Levels
We need to take a hard look at staffing levels, particularly in District Planning. With plan changes on hold until 2027, it’s difficult to justify current resourcing. This may change in 12 months depending on government direction, and by 2027 activity will surge again, but right now, there maybe opportunities for savings.

We should also explore shared services and collaboration under regional deals and RMA reforms, where councils are being encouraged to work together or outsource.

It’s also worth noting that while council often promotes its so-called “staffing cap,” this is misleading. The cap is usually set well above the actual number of full-time employees (FTEs) at the time, allowing council to steadily grow staff numbers while claiming they’re cutting roles.

Council Debt
There has been a lot of debate about council debt, with some councillors backing a faster repayment approach. While paying down debt is important, it must be done sensibly. Forcing today’s ratepayers to clear intergenerational debt too quickly only drives rates higher in the short term.

In 2024/25, rates jumped by 17% and in some parts of Kāpiti, by as much as 23.9%. That is simply unaffordable for many households. Council debt, by its very nature, is intergenerational: it should be shared fairly between current and future ratepayers.

The flaw in the current “pay it off fast” proposal is that there is no guarantee of long-term savings. In just a few years, a new Mayor and council could access the freed-up funds and spend them, wiping out any short-term sacrifices made by today’s ratepayers. A smarter, fairer approach is to spread repayment across generations, keeping rates affordable and ensuring Kāpiti remains a place people can afford to live.

At the same time, we need to push harder for alternative funding streams. Central government should be paying rates on its facilities, and councils should have access to a share of local GST revenue. Exploring and lobbying for these options is essential if we are to reduce our dependence on the current debt-and-rates cycle.

Outsourcing Economic Development (ED)

Too often, councillors are led to believe that council-controlled organisations (CCOs) or independent bodies are the solution. In some cases, a clearly defined external organisation can be beneficial, particularly if it can access alternative funding streams.

KCDC are proposing a new operating model for economic development, transitioning from the current Economic Development Kotahitanga Board (EDKB) to two independent entities: an independent Charitable Trust and a Limited Liability Company (LLC) owned by the Trust. While the exact budget for these new entities hasn’t been specified in the available documents, the Council has previously allocated a $1.3 million annual budget for economic development activities. This budget is expected to be managed by the new entities under the proposed operating model.

However, creating a $1.3 million annual budget for an externally delivered ED without proper oversight is unwise. Councillors have been given limited information, creating the risk of a $10 million “white elephant” over ten years. Much of the economic growth we need could be achieved through responsible housing growth and proper city centre planning that provides more commercial space. Many businesses I’ve talked to have indicated they would rather there was less involvement from council in their business and economic development, and to let business just get on with doing what they do well and thrive, rather than being taxed by council to “help business”.

The $1.3m question has to be asked, what has the EDKB actually achieved? There are plenty of strategies and reports, but five years after it was established (when I was on council) it’s strayed from its narrow focus and instead is more interested in kite flying flights of fancy than delivering real economic growth for Kāpiti.

The reality is that rate rises are already too high, and we must be disciplined about what council can and cannot do. That means no extravagant wage increases, overseas trips for management, or open-ended budgets without accountability.

For further information, would like to chat or raise some different issues, please contact me at rob@mccann.nz

If you want a change from the current approach, VOTE McCann for a Mayor that CAN.