Ratepayers would, if they were listened to, add two more reasons for most councillors having the decency not to accept pay rises; their wasteful use of rates and rates rises massively outstripping CPI-indexed incomes.
Similarly, Charles Sturt's (Letters, September 5) incantation of positivity fudges the fact that Rotorua fluked a trifecta last year to get a GDP rise slightly above the national average. The trifecta was the 18 per cent rise in the value of forestry exports, exchange rates prompting record tourist numbers, and near record milk solid payouts.
But none of these factors were caused by the council. None of them are likely to be repeated. So why bet again on Sturt's trifecta? The council's economic development strategy is, in my view, vision-driven not market-responsive, and therefore unbelievable.
No wonder business confidence is down at 2008 GFC levels. And no wonder the mayor used a staged point of order from Sturt at council to suppress any discussion of the councillors' pay rise (Local News, August 31).
(Abridged)
Reynold Macpherson
Rotorua