They failed ... miserably. The public's view was that better collaboration between the five councils was the way to go rather than having one super-council with Lawrence Yule as Top Dog.
And, talking about dogs, the council's inhumane treatment of those dogs impounded throughout Lawrence Yule's long tenure as mayor has been well documented since the Hastings dog pound scandal was exposed two years ago.
Positive changes have come too late for the thousands of pets that suffered and were killed over the years. There has been no justice for them.
Hastings needs a full-time mayor but for the past six years, Lawrence Yule has been juggling two jobs. His second, highly paid position as president of Local Government New Zealand has seen him travel to Wellington and round the country on a regular basis, as well as traipsing round the world on LGNZ business that has nothing to do with Hastings.
His ratepayer-funded mayoral salary of about $125,000 plus a four-wheel drive is for him to lead the council, not to go globetrotting for his other employer.
Cliques can be undesirable and within HDC there is a group of councillors, given the moniker "The Tight Five" by councillor Simon Nixon, who vote in a flock mentality with the Mayor on most issues. As a result, what Mayor Yule wants in HDC, Mayor Yule usually gets.
An example of their actions was their decision to approve over $1 million of ratepayer funds to help the Hastings RSA and other local clubs amalgamate and relocate.
The Mayor was left with egg on his face when the National Service Club voted against the proposal and ratepayers' funds were spared.
Another was their foray into the "Better Home" business venture which was a financial disaster that the council quickly glossed over.
The reported $170,000 loss from this year's ratepayer-sponsored Horse of the Year Show has caused the council, and in particular deputy mayor Cynthia Bowers, huge embarrassment. Ratepayers should not be used as a bank to prop up a loss-making event organised by a company whose chairwoman is also the deputy mayor.
A recent activity under Mayor Yule's watch was the auction conducted by the council's Maintenance Group. Never advertised, good-quality plant and equipment was snapped up for next to nothing.
Concerns about its authenticity were raised in Hawke's Bay Today. However, the Mayor dismissed it as inconsequential because, according to him, it only involved $5000. Excuse me ... that was ratepayers' money.
While admitting systemic failures by Parks and Reserves and the Maintenance Group, Mayor Yule has refused two formal requests to commission an independent review into this matter.
I intend to ask a third time.
I have totally lost confidence in Mayor Yule, his senior management and councillors.
Battling Hastings District Council on a variety of issues is like David versus Goliath. Whereas David had a sling, I have a pen, and I will continue to use it to challenge contentious issues and alert the public about matters which Mayor Yule would rather keep behind closed doors.
- Jessica Maxwell is an animal welfare advocate, self-employed funding adviser and a Hastings ratepayer.
- Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz
