A STOP TO SHADE SAILS

‘‘97 per cent of city’s parks uncovered’’ – North Shore Times, 19 October – and ‘‘up to $23.5 million’’ to ‘cover’ the rest.

Stop now! Especially if that Marlborough Park picture is the best you can do.

The play equipment is in full sun, and there are only a couple of squitty little sails, that barely work in the middle of the day. Education, education, education. Or put the parks indoors…

Allen Reynolds

Glenfield

COUNTING COUNCIL COIN

While we read Phil Goff is facing increasing criticism, even anger over blowouts in council expenditure due to exorbitant salaries paid to council staff, the council seem unable to comprehend the money they use for the community, is only collected by them.

They completely overlook it is earned (in the first instance) by honest hardworking taxpayers, for which they are only there to serve. Although in comparison the financial impact is insignificant, here is yet another way our council is prepared to waste rate-payer revenue - take a perfectly functioning street light and without consultation completely bastardising it.

It only took a porta-crane hoisttruck, a team of three, about four dozen traffic cones and an hour to complete, but revenue far better spent on emergency accommodation or restoring the local waterways.The council should be spending every dollar rate-payer dollar with careful consideration - like they had worked for it. Sending honest, hardworking ratepayers, quarterly demands for payments in the mail isn’t hard work. It’s extortion when the revenue is spent with reckless abandon.

Aucklanders, it’s time to take a good look at who we last elected to serve us so that next time around they do not get another opportunity to ride the cash cow while we toil in the fields.

Bryan Skellern

Unsworth Heights

FULL OF RUBBISH

My husband and I lived in Warkworth where the rubbish bins are always emptied regularly. Now we’ve moved to Fairview Heights and I walk with my dog along the footpath to the playground, close to Mitre 10. I am horrified to see the rubbish bins are very full and never emptied regularly, it is not nice to bring home bags of dog poohs! Why? Tricia Morrison

Fairview Heights