Letter to the Editor: Stick to the basics

I would like to draw the attention of all those standing for council in November to the ability of Tom and Jill.

Tom and Jill both left school without any qualifications, they are married, have two children and both are employed in low skill jobs.

Tom works full time whilst Jill works part-time because she likes to see the kids off to school with a fresh-packed lunch and also be there when they get home. Their joint net income, after tax, is $738 per week.

From that they pay their mortgage, rates, water charges, house, contents and car insurance and their power bill.

Their car is 12 years old. As the children grow they budget for new shoes, school uniforms, doctor's visits, good healthy food and all the unexpected things that crop up, like a new tyre for the car, new sheets for the bed.

One evening per month they sit down together, after the children are in bed, and go through their budget sorting out the, 'nice to haves', from the, 'must haves'. Somehow they get by. Tom dreams of going to his employer and saying "Sorry boss but we want to redecorate the house, upgrade our car and build a new fence around our garden so you'll have to give me a 7 per cent pay rise" and the boss replies "Certainly Tom, I'll send a note to the pay office right away".

Now look at the ability of council.

Many elected councillors and many council staff are educated to university level. They have access to accountants, economists, infrastructure and management consultants. Despite all this expertise they can't manage within the limits of the finance available so time and again they say to their employer, the ratepayers, "Sorry, but we are incapable of working within the financial restraints expected of us so we are imposing a 6, 7, or 8 per cent rates increase.

Maybe council should pick, at random, six couples like Tom and Jill. Invite them to come to council chambers for one evening per month, and for a flat fee, to go through council's finances, commitments and projects. The group could apply a good dollop of common sense, toss out all the, "Look what was built or put in place when I was on council", dream projects, stick to the basics and deliver rates increases in line with the rate of inflation.

REG FOWLES
WAIKANAE