At monitoring committee, elected members were brought up-to-date with reports from agencies funded by ratepayers/council for contracted services.

First up was Export NZ (BOP) reporting on Sister Cities economic outcomes. Ratepayers chip in $48,000 to ensure the sister cities (Yantai in China and Hitachi in Japan) arrangements are sustained and of tangible benefit to Tauranga. After a long time it seems to finally be clicking into gear. Business takes time in Asia, especially Japan, and it is an old boy network system that you have to be part of for repeat business. They do business differently in China and Japan as you might expect, and feedback to local producers and service suppliers sometimes isn't what they want to hear, but it does prepare locals for the reality of the market.
An interesting comment from Export NZ (BOP)'s Angela Wallace, was that recently when she boarded a plane in Japan to fly to China it was cancelled last minute.
It seems the Chinese had been seeding clouds for rain to break a drought and they had overdone it – producing snowstorms instead. You have to wonder how much of the present 'global warming” and/or climate change is man-made don't you? Forty years go the Americans were seeding clouds with silver nitrate (and breaking droughts in Arizona). You don't hear much about them mucking around with the weather these days, but it's a fair bet that it's still going on. I digress.
A further $5500 is provided for Sister Cities Education Outcomes. This is to facilitate incoming students from Yantai and Hitachi. Chamber of Commerce gets $54,000 targeted ratepayer funding to provide public assistance to the business sector. They have 700 members to which they provide services and this is funded by those members and that is their primary function.

Funding for art
The art gallery's new manager (not a director now) Penelope Jackson reported a deficit of $174,310 over and above budget. During the report it was mentioned that employment costs had been a factor. I took this to mean that these costs were incurred consequent to the recent departure of the Art Gallery director. I noted that in the report it stated that part of their requirements for the $800,000 the art gallery receives from ratepayers/council was 'to keep TCC informed of matters of substance relating to the gallery” and 'to ensure there are no surprises for TCC”. Most in Tauranga City Council were very surprised over the director's departure. But we were assured that the gallery expected to 'turn a corner” and no increase in ratepayer funding would be sought. Hopefully efforts being discussed in the arts and culture sector will be fruitful in and produce some cost cutting by sharing of resources.

Pool dip out
TCAL, which runs the city's aquatic operations, continues to operate satisfactorily. Their report continues to somewhat mask the reality of the aquatic network finances. They account for a $732,000 deficit on operations. This is quite correct because council owns the facilities like Baywave and the other pools and pays the loans. The real deficit paid for by ratepayers is about $2.1 million or about $42 per ratepayer. The termination of management contractor LeisureCo cost over $400,000 but council also won't be getting a budgeted $1 million five year dividend from LeisureCo either. TCAL moved with lightning speed over this when they discovered the pending liquidation, but they still dipped out. For instance, many monthly direct debits went to LeisureCo in advance so TCAL had to provide members services for nothing for that month. TCAL indicated they were keen to continue managing the facilities. From past experience when council ran the pools, TCAL are doing a good job.

Collaborative cost saving
A report on sea lettuce management this summer told elected members that over 950 tonnes had been collected. It's now being used as fertiliser instead of being dumped. This means that our high use beaches have been maintained for an amazingly low $51,000. The initial funding was $30,000 from council and $30,000 from Environment BOP. The work has resulted in a low complaint level and the new cooperative approach was working well staff told us.
EBOP remains at a very low level on ratepayer radar screens. The media rarely attend meetings and in any case they do a lot of their deliberations in confidential. So the low cost of sea lettuce operation is a rare display of unanimity for grass roots public benefit. Of course, it's the same set of ratepayers paying.

Offshore profit problem
No media attending the meeting at Western Bay Council for TECT Park up Pyes Pa Road and Huharua Park at Plummers Point. At TECT Park, many user groups are getting established with amenities and power going in.
The cost of getting power lines in rests with the users. Once the Power Board did it.
Now money that might have funded these works from your electricity bill gets spent on profit tax and director fees – with a lot of profit going offshore.
This is not to diminish the TECT contribution which made the park possible in the first place, so it's a two edged sword. No luck either in getting Rotorua District Council involved – its 2km closer to Rotorua from TECT Park – but we are continuing efforts to gain their attention.
Huharua Park at Plummers Point is going to have an opening soon – April or May. It will be a low profile (and low cost) affair. If you haven't been out there yet, make the effort. Like McLaren Falls Park it's a real gem.
Staff briefed me on a proposal concave architectural masterpiece bus shelter on Willow Street. An estimated $280,000, it was to 'interconnect” with the buildings across the road or something. It looks a million dollars, but, as I had already pointed out, it would provide little or no shelter from the prevailing sou'west wind. No-one took any notice except to say a consultant could do a report.
It's very frustrating as an elected member to have something as basic and obvious ignored. I did a sketch for them showing a basic verandah shape which wouldn't ‘sculpture' or funnel wind, and may provide rain protection. But I'll bet the architecturally designed feature happens.
Appearance prevails over function in all aspects of today's world. To everyone's detriment!