The Grey District Council has called in the police after online threats to councillors – including references to assassination and torture.
Angry comments on community forums and noticeboards have grown more heated over the past fortnight as locals compare soaring rate bills, and potential water charges.
The council’s chief executive Joanne Soderlund said the personal attacks, hate speech and violent threats aimed at councillors were unacceptable and unlawful.
“References to assassination, waterboarding elected members, and burning down the council building are beyond disgraceful. I must call out this behaviour on behalf of councillors and our staff.”
The council has filed an official complaint and asked Police to investigate.
While most of the community engaged in ‘respectful discussion’ a small number had crossed the line, Soderlund said.
“Councillors and staff are ordinary people that are part of our community – they have friends and family who see this hate … we will not accept or tolerate this.”
Most of the worst threats were from anonymous posters, she said.
“Hiding behind an anonymous profile may feel brave to some but it does not make the behaviour any less harmful or serious. As a community we should be setting a better example for the next generation.”
Councillors had to make hard decisions, often with no perfect option, Soderland said.
“Challenge the ideas, bring evidence, ask hard questions and participate in robust debate. But death threats, incitement to violence and vile online abuse are unacceptable.”
Grey District Mayor Tania Gibson said the recent online threats had been frightening for her children.
“I just wish people who say these horrible things would remember that our councillors and staff have families and it’s bad enough for adults, but our kids are seeing this stuff,” she said.
Online discussion has raged over the apparent discrepancy between the council’s announcement of an average rates rise of about 13% – and the size of the bills being received by some ratepayers.
Many have reported increases of 20% to 30%.
The council pointed out to one ratepayer who challenged its 13 per cent claim, that her actual rate rise, based on a property’s valuation, was small, going from $739 to $748.
The larger increase was in the council’s fixed charges for services.
Rubbish charges went from $383 to $603; water went from $784 to $913; sewerage charges rose from $864 to $1091 and the Uniform Annual General Charge went from $746 to $867.
Those increases applied to every household in the Greymouth area, the council explained.
The prospect of higher water charges in future has also infuriated ratepayers posting online.
Figures in the West Coast water delivery plan, due to be submitted to the Government this week, show residential ratepayers in the Grey District paying about $2500 a year for water and sewerage charges within the decade.
Mayor Gibson said not one councillor wanted to make the decision they were faced with last week over forming a Coast-wide water company with other councils.
“But the alternative – having a standalone Grey entity would have been worse: the Government would have put an official in to do it for us and we’d have had to pay for it,” she told LDR.
By Lois Williams for Local Democracy Reporting
Local Democracy Reporting is local-body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air