It would appear that I have fan club. Matt Gormansway actually reads my letters to the editor and feels the need to reply.
Mr Gormansway agrees that TCC should not neglect to provide ‘the adequate services and facilities that local residents deserve'!
My problem is understanding his – and Council's – interpretation of ‘adequate services.'
Council's duty – as representatives of all ratepayers – is to maintain the health, wellbeing and safety of those ratepayers. That is, excellent water, stormwater and sewerage facilities, rubbish collection and disposal etc for health, parks, playing fields and walkways etc for general well being and roads paving street lighting etc for safety.
For Council to venture into businesses that commercial operators visualise as being financially non-viable, is outside Council's duties to those that employ them and whom they represent!
Councillor Faulkner maintains in his weekly column in the Sun that Ratepayer debt is $226.7 million, external debt [!?!] is $314.5 million and total debt is $436.8 million. Whilst these figures don't compute and disagree with other published figures for TCC's total debt – there appears to be no plan to repay these amounts.
Interest on Total debt would be $21,8 million @5% and $30.5 million @7% which is between 25 and 34 % of Council's budget of $89million.
Just as losses from the ‘nice to haves' are added to Council's debt, I suspect that much of the annual interest due is also added to that debt.
I foresee a situation where TCC debt becomes totally un-manageable and shareholders i.e. ratepayers will be obliged to bail out a bankrupt city, or the city will become the property of its creditors. R. Jordan, Tauranga.