Good on you (The Weekend Sun) for publishing the article on Mr Stevenson's study of Tauranga City Council debt. It's good that your reporter didn't approach the council for their own sanitised version. It's interesting to reflect that if they were to retire $20m of debt every year it would take twenty-three years to become debt free. That's if they paid the interest in the meantime and borrowed no more.
It would be a good time for one of your reporters to investigate whether this is the full extent of their borrowing. For instance, does it include their borrowing from internal accounts such as the depreciation funds which are set up to replace assets?
It would be nice to see some real commitment to solving their (and our) problem by reducing spending rather than increasing rates.
Dan Russell, Welcome Bay.
15 comments
REPAY DEBT
Posted on 08-02-2013 19:30 | By Crash test dummies
Can not see $20m spare there for paying debt off. Only way is increase rates to have money to pay debt. No money any where else.
PAYING OFF DEBT $20m A YEAR
Posted on 09-02-2013 10:36 | By MISS ADVENTURE
So Dan what you are saying is that either: There is to much debt already and so rates go up anyway or with all the new debt coming from the sewer project that the debt will be to high and rates will go up anyway. Either way ratepayers are doomed because of the huge debt and the only way to try and fix it is increase rates alot.
Council uncovered
Posted on 09-02-2013 14:15 | By algail
The obvious answer to get rid of the Tauranga council debt ( Mismanagement ) is to vote them out. How long is it going to take Tauranga ratepayers to get off their collective backsides and vote them out or work together at the next election to encourage non ratepayers to either not vote or vote against the sitting mob. The only answer is get them out and get a management team in. Why people stand for council when they totally lack management skills is beyond me and it is time we got it sorted. Council spends our money on our behalf for our benefit now they are not doing that they are just wasting money would you put up with someone wasting your money in a private set up? Of course you wouldn't why the hell put up with this council then ? In the last couple of weeks God knows how many thousands were spent resurfacing Cambridge road on a section that was resurfaced a year ago when it didn't really need it then. Come on Tauranga STOP IT. Alastair Bethlehem
ALGAIL
Posted on 09-02-2013 23:18 | By Crash test dummies
Sadly voting them out does not fix it, the actual problem is mostly still there regardless, it is the whole decision making process, thinking and especially the entire philosophy that the average offical womble residing at TCC lives by. They have all forgotten that they are all "PUBLIC SERVANTS" not self servants. Because of that voting out the current lot will only get at the tip of the iceberg, a lot more to do after tht for any newbees as Councillors.
ALGAILhe debt without
Posted on 10-02-2013 10:29 | By MISS ADVENTURE
Sadly you have not got that to well, we can vote all oif the current lot out but we can not get rid of the massive debt without a lot of hard graft, more rates and a lot of grief for ratepayers.
UNCOVERED OR LOST CAUSE
Posted on 10-02-2013 14:33 | By Crash test dummies
Looks like the latter to me. I can see how the current "proven leadership" is going crawl out of this one this time?
MR RUSSELL
Posted on 11-02-2013 15:42 | By YOGI
Looks to me that the reporter did ask Council and the usual santised version was provided, that makes the Council picture look all that much worse I think because it is clear that the results they say are all wrong.
$20m OFF DEBT A YEAR
Posted on 11-02-2013 16:30 | By YOGI
That would be a very good idea, but to do that means adding to rates or making about 80 non-front line very much surplus staff redundant (without redundancy payments) then the debt will be able to be reduced and some.
$20 million off debt?
Posted on 13-02-2013 18:41 | By PLONKER
To pay off $20 million a year and every year for 23 years would be a great idea, but where is the money coming from? Council is cash strapped and has made half a dozen requests of Councillors for "Bailouts" in just the last few months alone. So where is $20 million a year of spare cash for debt repayment coming from?
Debt repayments
Posted on 14-02-2013 09:58 | By YOGI
From rates and only from rates.
From rates
Posted on 14-02-2013 15:37 | By YOGI
That can only happen if the rates increase a lot, or if a real Staff Audit is carried out and that is not looking likely as most Councillors promised last election but have failed to deliver, no surprises really when the caliber is considered.
Tauranga debt
Posted on 15-02-2013 07:40 | By Crash test dummies
They say that growth in the future in Taurangain the future is going to flat line it.
Publication great
Posted on 02-03-2013 19:07 | By TERMITE
But we all need to work on it, look and understand it because the TCC Communicaitons Department will soon give it a little "Magic mushroom touch" and then it will all be changed to something wonderful and beautiful and cozy and warm and fuzzy ... that will the end of the truth as we know it Jim!
Dear Dan
Posted on 07-03-2013 03:00 | By TERMITE
"Reduce spending" yeah right - TUI ADVERT on that one definitely, we have seen teh feeble efforts at cost saving where 66 staff are going out the door sometime although no one yet know really how many, when who or why. End result the cost to ratepayers will out weigh any short term benefit because teh natural tendancy of TCC inmates is to replicate and multiply without reason or purpose other than being self serving naturally. The bigger the empire the more the pay packet so what kind of incentive is that.
easy
Posted on 10-03-2013 10:25 | By Capt_Kaveman
vote them ALL out including that leader and all the croneis = all of them vote with the pen this year
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