Letters: Why the delay?

The survey was discussed at this week's council meeting. PHOTO/FILE

I am left wondering why the $31,000 report commissioned by council and conducted by the National Research Bureau was only released to the public in late October given the council received it in June.

There is the possibility of course, that as the approval ratings were worse than in 2015, that the report was withheld for the obvious reason that it might have impacted on the election results. We will never know.

It was said the results were skewed towards the 50+ age bracket. True, but it is this section of the community that takes a genuine interest in what goes on in their community and who care how their rates are spent. Many of the younger age bracket are renting, have minimal interest in such things and would likely fit into the "no opinion category". I must be honest and admit my husband and I and our friends fell into that bracket. The last thing we would read or talk about was council governance.

Maybe a street survey would offer provide a better cross section.

[ABRIDGED]
PADDI HODGKISS
Rotorua

The Community Satisfaction Survey (CSS) results dated 30 June 2016 were finally revealed after the election.

The CSS report showed that residents' disapproval or strong disapproval of council's decisions/ actions rose sharply from 20 per cent in 2014 to 39 in 2015 and to 43 in 2016. The mayor and councillors' performances rated as 'very good/ fairly good' have plummeted from 61 per cent in 2014 to 44 in 2015 and to 39 in 2016.

The new council's response? The chief executive combined categories in the 2016 report on mayor and councillors' performances to claim that "71 per cent rated it as acceptable or better" without mentioning the seriously negative trends.

In my view $31,000 worth of survey feedback had been suppressed, degraded and then dismissed.

Please council, stop wasting our rates and kidding yourselves.

[ABRIDGED]
REYNOLD MACPHERSON
Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers

I'd like to reply to Kate Gore (Letters, October 21) about calling me a grizzler.

Now if this great grandmother took the time to read my letter properly and had it in her hand when she decided I was a grizzler, she may have found that I said the wheelie bins are "a good idea" and that the only thing I thought was they were not really designed with thought about who was going to be using them. My opinion.

ROD PETTERSON
Rotorua