Cr Bill Faulkner Faulkners Corner www.sunlive.co.nz

At projects and monitoring committee, elected members received six monthly reports from various organisations that receive financial support for services they provide to ratepayers/council/community.

Tauranga City Aquatics Ltd (TCAL) is continuing to reduce its operating deficit funding from ratepayers. Six monthly figure is $366,000 which makes $732,000 for the year. But this is just the cost of running the pools and on top of that there is renewal maintenance of around $400,000 which is funded from depreciation accounts and the loan repayments which total about $1,783,000. The $4 million loan from TECT is being recalled next financial year I understand. This was the loan that I dubbed the smoke and mirrors loan in that the way it was portrayed in the original finance package made it unclear that the income from Baywave would be paying the interest and not the then management operator. No reflection on TECT in this, they were upfront and helpful, but some elected members thought that this was a contribution from the operator. As I have said often, if council were operating the pools, this operating expenditure figure would have doubled or trebled. Remember the British comedy series ‘The Brittas Empire'!
Ratepayers' average contribution is around $36 each.

The street
Both Tauranga and Greerton Mainstreets reported. Mainstreet funding is via a targeted rate to business ratepayers. Council itself is the biggest single ratepayer to Tauranga Mainstreet – from memory around $15,000 a year. Business ratepayers contribute $244,500 to Tauranga Mainstreet total.
Greerton Mainstreet is going through a metamorphosis as they move to appoint a new manager. Representatives from the committee attended, but there were no accounts presented. Council was assured they were in a liquid position.

Going straight
Penny Jackson from the art gallery told elected members that all their internal problems were now resolved and they now employed 10 full-time-equivalent staff.
Council has never been formally advised of the ‘internal problems' but from the accounts over last year and this year it would be most likely related to the departure of the former director. Larry Baldock noted that with 18 per cent of art gallery patrons coming from the Western Bay, the contribution from Western Bay District Council was ‘pathetic'.
TECT has put up $30,000 for the Hairy Maclary Art Trail. Creative Tauranga, which operates from premises across the road from the art gallery, told us they 'do a remarkable job” with the funding they receive. There is $227,258 from ratepayers plus they raise a similar amount from members. They have four full-time-equivalent staff. They lease the Cargo Shed from council for $500 a year and sublease to tenants.

Hi-de-hi
Sport BOP receives $272,356 from council and its function is to facilitate and assist with sport administration. Volunteers who used to do it in the main are now a threatened species. Sport BOP chief executive Wayne Werder says they are a very successful organisation. Magic Netball was delighted with the new Baypark Arena and is looking forward to international netball fixtures as well.

One foot in the grave
On other matters, council was alerted to a proposed joint Waikato/BOP Velodrome being promoted to be built in Cambridge. Oh joy, only another $40 million or so! I wouldn't be getting too excited about the possibility of Tauranga ratepayers being sucked into the vortex of a big black hole that money disappears into.

Yes Minister
The trustees of The Elms Mission House have made a request to council to transfer adjoining properties at 11 Mission Street and council's share of 7 Mission Street. This will go out for consultation and public submission in 2012-13. It was always intended that The Elms be made able to stand on its own feet, eventually, as ownership passed from private ownership of the Maxwell family. Ratepayers/council must have contributed around $2 million to the Mission House and trust over the years.
Council/ratepayer contribution to this real historic site is often overlooked by some critical of a perceived lack of ratepayer support for our history.

Porridge
An interesting addendum to a recent item in this column about the Bay Times creating news featuring me. Maurice O'Reilly contacted me to say that he hadn't sent my email to the Bay Times. As is the way with email he sent it on to someone who sent it on to someone who sent it to Bay Times reporter John Cousins. This is un-newsworthy except for the fact that Mr Cousins rang Maurice, not me, to confirm the email comment. As the old song goes: ‘Don't you ever let a chance go by.'

To the manor born
This week council has been interviewing candidates for a new CEO. This appointment is the single most important thing that this council will do. We've hit the financial wall and with legislation prescribing, definitively – the CEO position is the lynchpin.
A very strong bunch of applicants and it is apparent that anyone of the short list would be a capable CEO.
An appointment is pending and as soon as it is all confirmed a public announcement will be made.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council chief executive Bill Bayfield has just announced his resignation and is going to be the new chief executive of Environment Canterbury. Bill has been a breath of fresh air to the regional council and has had a very difficult path to tread during his time here. It doesn't look as if it will be any easier in Canterbury.

This week's mind bender from John Kenneth Galbaith – 'Meetings are indispensible when you don't want to do anything.”