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

The annual plan process is complete – signalling a rates rise and a return to regular business for the Tauranga City Council.

The annual plan was due to be confirmed on Thursday, after The Weekend Sun deadline. If it is confirmed, the rate revenue take will be $98,970 million – down $5.9 million from that forecast in the Ten Year Plan. That's about 11 per cent up on last year and allowing for one per cent growth will see individual rates rising by around 10 per cent.
As noted, many times before, this is not a happy situation. Given how this happened after consultation, levels of service demands, and a reluctance to cut back from both community and most elected members, then there is no option.

First dibs on indoor space
At Tuesday's strategy meeting, there was consideration of how the use of indoor facilities will be prioritised. It's a vexed question – do long term users get priority? Do the facilities give priority to 17 long term users over a 150 person use? Do users bringing business to town (say a tournament) get priority – and so on. With the imminent opening of TECT Arena at Baypark there should be considerable easing of pressure on existing facilities. In the meantime, commonsense and working with all parties should see most peoples' needs met, albeit with some compromise in the event of conflict.

Signs of the times
A review of the last council election saw Mayor Stuart Crosby question whether it is still appropriate for election signs to be on public property around the city – specifically those roadside signs. A report will come back for debate, but I have to say that in this day and age they really are a thing of the past. Other cities have restricted election signs to private property. Personally I stopped using them because I got sick and tired of the vandalism which seems to provide a community tolerated sport of cretins during the election. And I must say the city doesn't look the better for the signs. Some are innovative, most are boring and some look like a ‘most wanted'. No doubt there will be a hue and cry around suppression of democracy etc and that's a valid argument.

Buyer beware
More discussion on vegetation and tree management as council continues to claw back some commonsense into this political hot potato. Staff told us that less than one per cent of tree removal/trimmings need to come back to council these days. At the next strategy meeting, elected members adopted the procurement policy. This is supposed to see a more flexible and sensible method of how council does its purchasing. The intention is savings in the order of seven per cent. A fine ideal, but the culture in the organisation is hard to change.

Rocky moves for seawall
I'm currently involved in the proposal to restore and repair the seawall on Dive Crescent along from the Sebel hotel. A couple of years ago we were told it would cost $2m-3m million. I know a little about seawalls (no, I'm not an engineer!) and thought this was nonsense. A friend of mine who really knows a lot about seawalls estimated around $300,000-400,000 for repairs. Two years or so later it surfaces (no pun intended) again resplendent with a glossy consultant's report and an unofficial estimate of $1 million (plus!). Okay, it's a little more than reinstatement with a walkway and widening, but the report, amongst other things, requires carting rock away? And bringing more rock back! Unsuitable facing rock can surely be used for back fill? And so it goes on. Another procurement method would be to get a broad plan, have staff get three prices, then staff and contractor work the contract through without consultants. This isn't rocket science, proven by the fact that the existing wall lasted some 80 years and all that needs doing is replacing the wall a bit further out. I'll let you know the outcome of this.

A vision for TCAL
Discussion on the aquatics strategy – this is what council requires Tauranga City Aquatics Ltd to deliver to the community. It's a draft that will go out for public consultation. This is another complicated issue with various pressure points and conflicting use requirements. Tauranga is one of the very few cities that gets significant, much needed income from its aquatics network. Just as well, as ratepayers subsidise pools to the tune of $2 million. Of course a ‘vision' is required. Heaven help us from ‘visions'. Sometimes they turn into hallucinations. This one, we were informed, is providing aquatic facilities to the community because of the significant health and social benefits that come from being in the pools. There's a way to go with that in some facilities – Otumoetai Pool springs to mind!
In the confidential section, elected members reviewed the detailed financials on the gyms at Baywave and Greerton Pool. The concerns from other gym operators were that the gyms were being subsidised by ratepayers. Audited figures show that the reverse is the case and the gyms in fact help reduce ratepayer subsidy to the pools.

Service push for planners
More visions and slogans in the planning department – I've had a string of complaints lately surrounding building inspections and consents issuing. The common theme is that complainants are coming to an elected member as a last resort. As I sat with a complainant at one meeting, the pad on the table said ‘outstanding service – every time'. Hopefully there is no ‘black list' that some complainants said existed. Time is money to the building industry and it's easy to understand frustration with needless and bureaucratic hold-ups in the process. When there is a monopoly service like planning consents and inspections, in my opinion there is an absolute obligation to provide ‘outstanding service – every time' and on time or preferably before time!

Valuing community buildings
A lengthy council meeting on Monday saw the cricket pavilion at Blake Park get go ahead approval subject to a mutually acceptable agreement between the BOP Cricket Trust and adjoining user Mount Maunganui Cricket and Hockey Society, which presently has clubrooms on Blake Park with a lease expiring 2019.
The Welcome Bay Baptist Church, which owns the building on council land behind the Welcome Bay Hall, addressed elected members. Their lease is up and they are seeking $235,000 for council to take over the building. This is a private valuation they have. The council valuer says $61,500, so there's big gap in financial aspirations – negotiations will continue.
This week's mind bender: The law of probability – the probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.