Opinion: Staying still is moving backwards

Kuirau Park is in the council's sights for an upgrade, according to its Long Term Plan. Photo/File

Rotorua Lakes Council has been pelted with a lot of mud recently.

Its most recent transgressions, in the views of our readers in our Letters to the Editor column and our Facebook page, include the $123,000 deficit, brought about by the expenditure and returns on the two council-run markets, the Night Market on Thursdays and the Sunday Farmers Market; and the revelation that parking services in the city are to be outsourced.

Add to that the debacles over the Aquatic Centre and Mudtopia - an event that some viewed as a waste of money.

One has to admit - the outward perception of these two issues is not good, no matter how good the council's intentions are.

The mudslinging continues. We reported earlier this month that the council has retained its AA- credit rating from international agency Fitch for the third year running - despite a "high level of debt relative to peers".

The line about the high level of debt is the interesting bit.

More frugal ratepayers demand that the council stop its "unnecessary spending" and focus on core infrastructure and paying down the debt.

Good advice if you run a household and pay a mortgage.

But I doubt those kinds of austerity measures would be good for our city. If we stand still, we go backwards.

I too am a ratepayer, and I have a vested interest in this city as much as anybody else.

Rotorua is vibrant and colourful and we need investment in our future if we are to not only survive, but thrive.

In its Long Term Plan, the council has highlighted the Lakefront and Kuirau Park upgrades, fixing our iconic museum and performing arts centre, and improving our aquatic centre as areas that need attention. I agree.

So while the council must navigate this murky mire of spending versus debt reduction, and while I agree the debt has to be addressed, it's the council's job to balance the books at the end of the day and decide how much to spend on each - that's what we elected them to do.

The council must tread carefully but also move forward. Otherwise we will get stuck in the mud.