How will poor pay rates?

Once again we get to see via the long term plan the complete lack of any sense of what is really important to our local governing body, or should I say the misguided group of persons who have absolutely no concept of what good governance means.

I wonder what the mayor and his group of collaborators thinks the genuinely poor, the infirm and the aged are going to do to raise the money necessary to pay the higher and higher rates increases. For those who are councillors the increases may seem small and for them they are because they can, if they wish, give themselves a raise to alleviate any deficit in their pocket money.

I have in the past complained bitterly via the South Waikato News about the absolute lack of consideration by this council of public opinion. Even when this opinion is asked for and given it is considered irrelevant and totally disregarded. The South Waikato Sport and Events Centre has already contributed 1.3 per cent to the rates increase in year one. What kind of increases will it contribute to if it proves unfinancial in the future?

We have been assured that this facility will not increase rates by more than 2 per cent but we can be sure that this is open to review. Having used figures quoted, the increase of rates on my home will be $213.22 by year two. I may have to consider becoming a wanderer.

J.C. Simcock, Tokoroa. side. The wall had been breached and holes had formed behind. New timbers were fitted where required and the erosion in-filled.

Within weeks we were back to square one, the erosion was back – no membrane inside the retaining wall and in-filled with pumice sediment from the lake. Expanded polystyrene beads would have been just as good.

Could we register our council as a charity? At least then we could claim our donations (rates) against our tax.

This is just an idea regarding our native plantings.

If any of the children involved in the plantings should read this letter and they could persuade mum and dad to take them to see how there plants are thriving that would add extra interest for them and added incentive for the powers that be to get their act together.

As a matter of interest, I passed another three-metre tree destroyed by the council contract mower this morning, totally vandalised, in the domain close to the Cosmopolitan Bowling Club.

R Freeman, Tokoroa