The divvying up of TCC council salary fund and allocation of the committee chairs and deputy jobs is something to behold - nothing wrong with the existing payment formula for God's sake.

This has all the hallmarks of cronyism simply leading to a dysfunctional and divided council, completely devoid of cohesiveness and lacking unity. May prove to be far worse than the previous spiteful Council which almost led us to the brink of insolvency. The shackles are off big spenders, the world is their oyster with rates set to balloon by 40 per cent in the next three years – debt incurred for nice to haves as opposed to necessities and essentials will burgeon based on TCC's own summation. Looks like unsustainable fiscal lunacy. So what do the general public think? Well in my view, it's probably unprintable and Tauranga citizens have every reason to be afraid.

Those with real concern about Tauranga's financial welfare and social fabric should vehemently increase calls for the appointment of Local Government Commissioners forthwith to run Tauranga City – after all it is not only elected members that need sorting out but Council's dysfunctional bureaucracy running amok with huge staff levels and salary blowouts and its own ingrained toxic culture to boot.

S Paterson, Ohauiti.