Wheeler’s CornerÓ Connecting Citizens Who Care
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Contact Peter at wheeler@inspire.net.nz
05 8th February 2007
This Week: 1. Council and City Patrol 2. Arrogance is all around us. 3. Secret internal memo leaked. 4. Cr. Wall opens mouth and wind blows her tongue about 5. Council staff recommends salary increase. 6. My God says.
Editorial:
‘Whom should we believe? The council who suggests that our city is safer than ever before or those that volunteer their services free of charge and patrol our streets during the night hours when most of us are tucked up in bed. The council has or plans to spend about twenty five million dollars on the Square. One of the big reasons for this make over was security. Some suggested a rape a week and people being bashed on a daily basis. We are all aware that these public relations statements were never true in real terms as police figures prove. The Manawatu Standard published figures no doubt show the real situation. The patrolling pensioners know that the streets are not as safe as the council would have us believe. While the police can’t tell us the true value of the voluntary effort they accept the support of the volunteers and that sure tells us something, but just what is lost in the spin that is pushed by council. The key question for citizens is ‘should they assist in making the city safe using their forever rising rates? As can be seen council takes credit for the donation of a vehicle by some used car dealers. The volunteers received $3000.00 from council to assist them, but this of course was tagged to administration. It has been suggested to me that driving the bad types out of the Square simply drove them into our smaller shopping centres. This view can be supported because the overall figures for street crime has not declined in real terms. The item below appeared in the Manawatu Standard on Saturday 3rd of February 2007. It has been slightly amended and abridged.
1. Pensioners who patrol Palmerston North's mean streets on the lookout for criminals are quitting patrols, citing rising fuel costs and a lack of council support.
The Community Patrol Group's 45 unpaid city volunteers drive in pairs through troubled streets at night and report suspicious activity to police. Their actions help prevent and solve crime, police say. The volunteers, whom many are pensioners, have been keeping a watch on the city streets for six years. But about six members had quit in the past year because they could not afford fuel, coordinator John Walters said. He wants Palmerston North City Council who gave them $3000 for running costs last January but rejected a further funding request two months later to dig deeper. "I think council has an obligation to help because we are helping the community be a safer place."
Patrol members spent the first five years using their own cars for patrols but a finance company and seven local car dealers purchased the group a vehicle last year. Mr. Walters, who works 35 hours a week without pay to keep the patrol group running, said members get "disenchanted" with the lack of council support. Mayor Heather Tanguay said council declined the group a second round of funding last year "because a grant had already been made". A council city safety officer had also "provided them with a sponsored vehicle arranged through an initiative with two benevolent motor traders in the city," she said. Mr. Walters said council had put no finance toward the car. City car dealer Peter Day agreed: "They (Community Patrol Group) do a fantastic job for our city, but they are under-funded and under- resourced."
Mrs. Tanguay said council was pleased with the work the community patrol group was doing, "and proud of the assistance we have been able to give". Another patrol group in Ashhurst, which runs in conjunction with the Palmerston North group, use their own vehicles and pay for their own fuel when on the road. The patrol groups liaise closely with police, with other tasks including viewing surveillance camera footage of The Square at night from inside the police station, and conducting safety and crime surveys.
Palmerston North Senior Sergeant Murray Drummond said the community patrol was another pair of eyes and ears for police. "Sometimes it's hard to determine exactly how effective they are, but certainly over time they have assisted us in apprehending people and drawing suspicious people and suspicious activity to our attention," he said. "We tell them where we have got issues in certain areas and they patrol those areas for us."
2. Arrogance is all around us: often it is private and harms no one other than the person being arrogant. The arrogance that really upsets me is public arrogance. When you attend a public council meeting the least you can expect is to hear the words of the participants. While the normal council chamber is closed for yet another costly public reception area recreation, council meetings are being held in the Convention Centre. Last night [Monday] was yet again a chance for specific councillors to hide what they are saying from both the press and the public. They refuse to use the microphones provided. Cr. Wall once said, and I quote, ‘I’m not here to talk to the public’, and she continues this arrogant behaviour with comments about the good citizen’s of Dittmer Drive when she said " Council staff are being pilloried by residents who don’t have enough to do in their lives". Some really nice and community minded citizens live in Dittmer Drive for example Dr. Brian Booth. Has there ever been such an arrogant councillor as Cr. Wall? Cr. Pope who it would seem is sticking to her New Years resolution of attending meetings also spoke but alas no one heard what she had to say. Still Val Wilkinson speaking during public comment about the stuffed up process relating to Dittmer Drive attempted to get her valid points across, but I never heard a word she said. That naughty Awapuni Ward Committee had asked that council reconsider the placement of calming devices in Dittmer Drive and that an independent reviewer be used. The council is using the very same people who installed the devices and who failed to follow council policy while doing so. It’s rather like marking your own exam papers at Massey! These are the staff that Cr. Wall suggests are being pilloried, the very same staff that went on strike with the agreement of the CEO. And according to council they are already twenty thousand dollars over budget and have no money available to hire an independent reviewer. This is arrogance at its finest. Another two speakers during public comment put their case against council arrogance regarding parking in the CBD for those living in the city. It would seem that some business types who oppose free parking during daylight hours for those who reside there have preference over those seeking inner city living. What’s new, money talks… In fact the concept of council meetings being open to the public is a sham. The council spent over ten thousand dollars up grading the sound system in the council chambers but most of the time it’s out of action. This wouldn’t be a problem if all the councillors spoke in the Roman Senate style of Cr. Gordon Cruden, who I might stress, uses the microphone as well! Well done Brutus, Oops I mean Gordon.
3. Secret internal memo leaked:
From: Name Deleted. Date: Some time last week: To: All staff & Councillors.
Palmerston North Vs. New Plymouth for place on Monopoly Board corner. As you are all aware New Plymouth City is challenging us for a place on the new and exciting monopoly board. The way you vote is by using the web. At the moment we are well behind in the voting. Therefor I have instructed that all staff will get an extra half-hour lunch break next Monday so as to enable you to vote for The Square. If you vote for any other place the time will be deducted from your annual leave. All computers will be made available and lessons will be held for those who don’t know how to use a computer. Also there is a big challenge to get as many monopoly players into the Square on Sunday Afternoon for Cr. Hornblow’s highlight of the year event. He hopes the attempt will get in to the Guinness Book of Records. Cr. Wall and Naylor will check the numbers attending and ex Hong Kong Judge Cr. Gordon Cruden will make sure everything is legal and above board. Failure to attend these two activities could lead to employment concerns… there were other words like, treason, cowardly, disloyal and uncaring, anti-social, but these were removed to protect the reader]. Memo ends.
Now it is known that around 190 turned up for the monopoly event. We are checking to see what sort of web surge took place on Monday lunchtime. As soon as we have the information we will publish it.
4. Cr. Wall opens mouth and wind blows her tongue about this from Manawatu Standard. ‘The council and residents [Dittmer Dr.] have been at loggerheads since the installation of chicanes on the riverside street last year. The council agreed to undertake a survey to see whether the chicanes were working and the Awapuni Ward Committee requested an independent body do the review. But last night, the infrastructural well-being committee decided council officers should undertake the review. City networks general manager Ray Swadel said the ward committee's request was not clear and he was unsure what it meant. The project is already $20,000 over the budget of $96,000 and there is no budget for an independent review, he said. Cr. Alison Wall said there is a lot of emotion in this issue. "The record needs to be put straight. We are not turning down people who have a just cause. I don't think they have." Council staff acted with integrity over the chicanes and is being pilloried by residents who don't have enough to do in their lives, she said. Cr. Lynne Pope said she had been getting feedback from people who have children at the nearby school. "I hope the school has an opportunity to make comment." Cr. Ian Cruden said he is concerned about the way the council views the ward committees. "If we appoint a ward committee, we should be listening to what they are saying. They are the eyes and ears of the community." Dittmer Drive resident Val Wilkinson told the committee she had done a survey of residents and most voted in favour of the chicanes being removed.
5. Council staff recommended that councillors receive an eight hundred-dollar salary increase, with no requirement to attend meetings. This means that some councillors receive around $250.00 per meeting while other may receive up to a thousand dollars per meeting. If approved councillors will receive around $33,106.00 per year plus expenses. They will also be paid for sitting at ‘Special Hearings concerning the RMA and are a board member of the fully council owned Airport Company.
6. My God says, Gee fancy being paid for not attending meetings, can you imagine your boss paying for not attending work!
Peter J Wheeler
Wheeler@inspire.net.nz
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