Another tough month at the mayor’s office.
Try explaining how to get council out of a $295m hole dug by my predecessor along with most of the current councillors, not many of whom are keen to accept any responsibility at a time when thousands of homeowners have had serious increases in their interest costs.
It reminds me of the song ”Everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die”.
The budget tries to use a range of levers to spread the pain, but consultation so far has just been a list of demands to get someone else to pay more to protect whatever that person gets out of the system, even though we are trying to evenly spread the load.
There are undoubtedly big savings to be made both within council, and in many cases within the Council Controlled Organisations, but even these seem to be sacred cows to some.
A good example would be the proposed cycleway from Ponsonby Road corner along Great North Road to the Grey Lynn shops. My last home was in Tuarangi Road and my current abode is just above the start, so I am easily the most local elected official having lived at both ends of this proposal, which arrived at council with the astonishing price tag of $28m.
To check this for value, I pedalled my bike both ways last Saturday. What I discovered was wide concrete footpaths both sides of the road and a series of nice mature trees planted in a series of 1.8m squares regularly along the roadside of the footpath. These trees are intended victims of the $28m, which seems a real shame.
The remaining 3m strip of footpath behind these trees is fine for both cycles and the more numerous walkers and scooters. The only thing spoiling this is the random siting of the bus shelters which turn out not to be owned by council but by an advertising company seemingly allowed to plonk these down wherever they feel like it.
If they were forced to use the outer 1.8m between the trees, suddenly there is a 3m strip available both ways, both sides of the road for cycles and walkers. All that is needed is a paint strip, maybe $50k or nearly $28m cheaper!
Even if I managed to charge a million for consulting fees like the Grey Lynn West fiasco, there would still be enough savings to relieve pressure elsewhere in the system.
I expect this proposal to be derided by various zealots who measure compliance with green house gas reduction by the amount of money thrown at it rather than any actual gas reduction, but my point is, can we please have a rational debate on sensible ways to get back control of council’s finances without thumping great rate rises. (Wayne Brown)
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