One person immediately critical of the council's move to suspend funding New Year events in Mount Maunganui is Ron Burgess, a retired police officer who has years of experience of Mount Maunganui new year events.

Ron's experience started in the 1960s, when he travelled to the Mount from Palmerston North for a New Year at the Mount.

He thinks it's a return to the days when Adams Avenue between the then Oceanside Hotel and the motorcamp used to be ankle deep in broken glass on New Year's Day.

'I think you are making a huge mistake and I know health and safety might be involved but I think you are more liable to offences under Health and Safety by not doing, than you would be if you were doing something,” says Ron.

Everyone in Tauranga has attended New Year at Mount Maunganui and they are now bringing up teenagers who want the same experience.

'And why shouldn't they,' says Ron.

The great ‘riot' of 2001 was an overreaction of the officer in charge of the police on the day, says Ron.

'I managed to get my hands on the video recording of the troubles we had that night which broke out after midnight.

'It was no fault of the organising parties. I believe it was a complete over reaction by the officer in charge of the police at that time.”

He managed to acquire a tape machine to play it back for the then mayor Noel Pope, but the mayor has already admitted in public that the council could have done better, says Ron.

'If this activity is cancelled now I foresee the problems I experienced in Mount Maunganui in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” says Ron.

'There was no organisation by council for any activities. It was left to police and we don't want to go back to those days.”

He says the townspeople haven't had a chance to speak out about it because the whole thing's been done in confidential.

At the last council meeting of the triennium, Councillor John Robson asked why the decision is presented to council at the last meeting of the council term and why the council only sought outside advice in August.

Jaine Lovell-Gadd says the staff review of the event began in January and they took some time to explore options and obtain specialist advice. By the time to obtain the services of someone to provide an overarching it was August.

Events specialist John Dawson's report says the Mount NYE event is the most expensive in the country, and the biggest with crowd estimations between 30,000 and 50,000 people.

The amount budgeted for this year was $279,000 and the estimated costs have ballooned to $784,000. Other holiday spots with bands and fireworks get by with $50,000 to $150,000 says John. The investment doesn't deliver any significant economic benefit. The city's accommodation is already full.

Without entertainment there will still be traffic control and crowd control issues at least for the first couple of years says John. Even without entertainment there is still no guarantee that major disorder can be avoided.