Sandy Milne

This roadside planter box is not far from the home of a Whakatāne district councillor.

She lives a two-minute stroll from the site of the shoddy and costly Whakatāne Heads kiddies’ pool which was a failure from the get-go.

She and other councillors failed to support myself and my friend, engineer and fellow-Scotsman Alasdair Abernethy when we pointed out the faults and dangers of the location and design for children and caregivers.

She also gave the nod to other sad council bad choices such as the $6 million losing boat harbour project.

We ratepayers pay every elected councillor more than $48,000 a year to look after our interests and gardens, loos etc.

That is a 10-hour-a-week hobby activity for well-off locals with time on their hands.

They are lucky that I am not the chief executive officer of the council.

To a more urgent point of this letter … I have been advised of a rumour doing the rounds that rates will rise by 8 percent, 8 percent, and 3-plus percent in the next three years.

Most of my friends and neighbours will find that a burden.

Why should we trust our councillors or overpaid council managers to look after our interests wisely when they forget basics, like plants need water?