Petition launched on Hamilton City Council name change
Petition launched on Hamilton City Council name change
13
MARCH 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
It is astounding that
Hamilton City Council’s mayor is pushing a name change
while Hamilton ratepayers face rate hikes of 9.5% a year,
says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, launching a
petition on the issue.
Taxpayers' Union spokesperson Louis Houlbrooke says, “The Mayor should be dealing with a rates crisis, not spending even more ratepayer money on something completely non-essential."
“When the smaller Stratford District Council changed its logo, it was estimated to cost at least $65,000. The cost to ratepayers will be far higher in Hamilton. Perhaps a better comparison is when Auckland’s tourism agency updated its slogan, costing ratepayers $500,000.”
“Even setting the cost aside, the Mayor insults ratepayers by prioritising window-dressing rather than improving the city’s finances or basic services. It looks like a classic political distraction – dead-cat-on-the-table style – so people don’t see the Mayor’s hands reaching deeper into ratepayer pockets.”
“These types of vanity projects are costing ratepayers across the country. We must send a message to mayors across the country that they are paid to serve ratepayers, not to craft legacies for themselves.”
The Taxpayers’ Union has launched a petition to encourage Hamilton City Councillors to vote down the name-change project at Thursday’s meeting. Sign the petition here: https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/name_change_petition
ENDS