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

At projects and monitoring committee this week elected members received a petition from quad bike drivers (ATV) registered to drive on Papamoa Beach.

These are mostly fishermen.

The beach is legally a public road so any vehicle using it should also have a WOF and rego. Good luck!

Prior to the council beach registration system, apparently it was on for young and old and it is reported that at times it was like the wild west.

Since beach registration of ATV users ($30 fee to council), numbers reduced significantly.

But since council's policy of enforcement-only-upon-complaint has shown up, non-registered ATV use has increased again resulting in this petition seeking enforcement.

Police do not include enforcement of beach traffic as part of their normal duties.

And by the time a council officer reacts to a complaint, the perpetrator is long gone and most of those have no identification anyway.

Staff will liaise with police and do a ‘sting' at random.

Once again, it's a case of some ruining it for others.

Inevitably there will be a serious incident resulting in all users being banned.

Motorbikes are also a concern.

Council doesn't want to be a kill joy (no pun intended) here, but it seems that as population increases, former freedoms are slowly and sadly inevitably curtailed thanks to the activities of an irresponsible minority.

Murray Guy tried to have the $30 fee removed and allow open slather back on the beach and failed 8-3.

Mayor Stuart Crosby commented that ‘as a poacher turned gamekeeper' from his younger days, a suggestion that beach wardens be empowered wouldn't work.

There is just too much aggro around these days.

Road projects in the works

In a presentation from NZTA (formerly Transit) on Tauranga roading, they reported 16 fatalities in the year to date on the roads, down from 37 in the same period last year.

They also stated how work is progressing on Bayfair/Girven Road roundabout solutions.

It's not as simple as ‘grade separation' (flyovers) we were told because of implications and complications at Te Maunga roundabout.

March next year will see a public information/consultation day on proposals; likewise, solutions to Elizabeth Street/Takitimu Drive roundabout holdups will be in March.

The Northern Arterial motorway, now known as Northern Link, designed to bypass Bethlehem and join State Highway 2 at Te Puna, is under investigation.

Don't hold your breath for this one – there is no funding on the horizon so it is unlikely to materialise in the next 20 years, but four-laning Bethlehem to Route J is likely.

Rena blamed for tardiness

In open forum, Murray Guy raised issues of timeliness of staff responses to elected members queries. I have noticed tardiness in recent months too.

In response, elected members were told staff resourcing of the Rena incident was the reason for these delays.

Plans taking up time

Three year/Ten Year Plan meetings occupied three full days this week.

Before we got into this, Mayor Stuart Crosby made presentations to city planner Andy Ralph acknowledging his recent receipt of an award from his profession.

I was delighted to learn from Andy that he reads this column and that he too was looking for changes to the Resource Management Act.

No details, but I would surmise that some of the changes he would be seeking would be different to mine!

Recognition also to John Payne, who runs the environmental compliance section.

His work around animal services and dog control is nationally recognised.

John has done sterling work in bringing this activity into the 21st century.

I couldn't believe the barbarity of dog control when I first got on council and I tried hard to get things changed.

Some of it was so inhumane and gross I won't record what went on, but it's all changed now and thanks to John for his significant contribution.

Nice noises on financial prudence

The three year/Ten Year Plan discussion was underway as this went to press.

Council CEO Ken Paterson opened with his oversight of the plan.

New Zealanders were spending $1.14 for every $1 earned before the economic downturn, he said. Now it was 99c for every $1.

Proposed capital expenditure, which drives council's borrowing, was down $36 million as a consequence of elected member initiatives from the current three year/Ten Year Plan. Route K debt is still included in the mix.

Interest charges on city debt are $20.3 million a year resulting in 14c in the dollar going on debt servicing.

Council/ratepayers had an ongoing exposure to the risk of rising interest rates he told us.

(I note that for the next three years there was no such increase proposed in the budgets.)

With debt to revenue ratios sitting at around 244 per cent of a 250 per cent limit, set by credit rating agency Standard and Poors (yes, the same company that erroneously released a downgrade of France's credit rating), Tauranga only had a buffer of around $9 million for an unforeseen disaster.

At this meeting, all the right noises were made by every elected member; restraint, control, no extra spending, sell assets, repay debt. Great!

Music to my ears, in fact Bill Grainger commented we were all singing from the same song sheet.

Whether or not we will all remain in tune remains to be seen as individual wheelbarrows and minority interest pressures impact on individual elected members.

For the next year proposed indications are for an around 5.7 per cent gross rate increase and allowing for growth of one per cent and inflation at 2.3 per cent seems, at first glance a target to aim to cut down considering the 10.1 per cent increase ratepayers experienced this year.

This week's mindbender from Will Rogers: 'Everyone is ignorant, only on different subjects!”