S Searle

The summer of 2025-26 would be the first summer in many years that the Whakatāne District Council has not asked the residents of the district to conserve water. It has been also our wettest summer in a long time.

In previous years the council has asked us to conserve water. Not due to the lack of water, but because of inadequate facilities to treat and supply.

They have also informed us that there is no money to improve this situation.

Yet, they continue to increase pressure on this inadequate facility by adding new subdivisions and allowing multi-dwelling sections.

Some sections, where there was a single dwelling, there are now as many as five.

Nandor Tanczos, we remember that you were a councillor for nine years before being elected as mayor.

In that time your silence tended to support the council’s spending.

There was the total refurbishment of the council building, done under the guise of earthquake proofing, and the millions used to investigate the building of a marina.

Then there was the pruning of the trees along Olympic Drive, though in the scheme of things not costing much. But the money could be better used.

Surely, council priorities should be ensuring services can cope with current and future pressures and are regularly maintained and upgraded.