The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through a Local Government Official Information and Meeting Act request a total cost breakdown of Tauranga City Council $5 million destination playground.

A breakdown of costs shows $1.67 million was spent on play equipment, $1.1 million on hard landscaping, nearly $640,000 on consulting, engineering, and management costs, $361,000 on safety surfacing, and $150,000 on council staff costs.

Taxpayers’ Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:

“Building a park for $5 million is one thing, but spending nearly $800,000 before a single cent is spent on actual materials, is disgraceful.

"When the fact the floor alone cost more than 1.4million it makes you wonder if its made of shredded ratepayer cash.

“Not only did Tauranga council blunder millions on this project, including exorbitant council fees but they had the gall to jack rates 13.1% this year alone. It's time for Tauranga council to understand they can't have their cake and eat it to.

“This is yet another example of local councils treating ratepayers as a bottomless ATM. Tauranga residents deserve full transparency on where their money is going and why this playground climbed so much higher than it should have.”

NOTES:

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is an independent and membership-driven activist group, dedicated to being the voice for Kiwi taxpayers in the corridors of power. Its mission, lower taxes, less waste, more accountability, is supported by 200,000 subscribed members and supporters.

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