Councillors and Council staff certainly have a tough job to do with many eyes on them, and the current Council certainly inherited some problems.  I think the Council made an effort not only to take on stewardship of this town & surrounds, but also to move them forward which I applaud. At times, from the sidelines, I think some of their grander visions lost touch with economic realities, and were pursued on the misguided basis that the regions growth would be linear or expodential. I am sure they have made many positive changes along the way, but perhaps took their gaze a little high at times losing sight of core services and the basic role of Council.

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Some of the expenditure was excessive on some projects, with too much being spent on more outside (expensive) consultant studies when there was sufficient information available for a descion to be made.

That\\\'s a very broad and ultimately subjective question, John.

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Wise robust decisions have been made through all the legislatives processes and value has been given by contractors for tenders.

Most of Rate income has been spent on planning and policy this council has not built new facilities as the previous one did. so in the main the short answer is yes

In some instances, yes. In some instances, no.

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No

With spending on pet projects as well as what is planed to spend on these projects in the coming years

Traffic lights Waimea Rd, Motueka St $800.000. Wakefield Quay $4mill. Civic house upgrade $5.6mill.  Montgomery car park upgraded $2.5mill. The list can go on and on.

A Vote for Andrew Dunlop is yes back to key infrastucture; Sewerage,water,stormwater,transport,roads,cycleway,walkways.

Accountability on the way every rate dollar is spent

A good question, but not an easy one to reply with a simple yes or no.

I believe the previous term council had left some serious financial management issues which the current council has worked on, including employing a new CEO and requiring more accountability, but I do believe there is some way to go.

I also think the over use of consultants has been excessive in some areas.  The problem being when consultants don\'t listen to the community - the result becomes a cost and an angry community.

Poor communication with community has also let this council down.

The current council has supported a range of pet projects, rather than some of the basics - maintenance of current assets is essential and core business.

In the current economic climate which is likely to continue, it is impertive that all future expenditure is carefully managed: needs based and prioritised.

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Hi John

My apologies for the delay in reply.  Sadly and honestly, NO.  That\\\'s why I\\\'m and some new and experienced others with \\\'back to basics\\\' common sense are standing in the hope to get that sorted.  Thank you for your query.  Best wishes,

Marie Johnstone

I am not currently able to judge whether they spent it “wisely”. We do not yet have the financial result for June 2010 but one would hope that expenditure was in line with or below the Nelson Community Plan 2009-2019 and the 2010 Annual Plan. These are both excellent documents which should be compulsory reading for all Nelsonians.  Free from the Council offices.

 With the current world economic downturn which I see continuing for some years what is really important to me is that future expenditure is carefully examined as to necessity, prioritised and spent efficiently.

In this respect I believe my training and my business experience will allow me to make a positive contribution to Council.

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Hi John

A good question but one that isn\'t easy to answer with a short reply.  The previous council inherited a system of financial management that made it quite difficult for councillors to really know what was going on.  A change has occurred and budget management is now far more rigorous with the chief executive having strict performance management in this area.  To be quite honest for the first two years I didn\'t have confidence that we really knew where the money was going. Now I think the challenge is priority setting and adjusting for the fact that the economic situation is not what it was 3 years ago.  We need to base spending on managing risk and adding value.  What is the risk if we don\'t spend and what is the value if we do.

The present Council has performed OK cosidering it was passed on a number of projects to complete from the past council. With this I am refering to the Tralalgar Centre,Saxton Field Stadium,Trafalgar Park,Theatre Royal,Natureland, and the Suter.The lsit goes on.

To a large degree the present Councils hands were effectivly tied.That said their level of communication to the public from the council has been poor.

Hi John.  I would tend to answer this by reviewing the annual accounts of the NCC for the year ending 30 June 2010. However a set of audited accounts are not available yet. What I do know  is that current councillors were voted in by the Nelson public. Therefore they were given a mandate and those that voted had confidence in their skills, expertise and policies. I note that in the 2007 election only 50.39% of eligible voters voted. Consequently half of the Nelson public did not think it important to have a say in who was going to govern their city.  All decisions about expenditure/projects would have been  considered by the council since 2007  and they would have used all the information available to them to form a view about how to spend ratepayers money. If the audited  accounts confirm that expenditure is 2 or 3 % (+/-) of the 2009/10 annual plan you would have to say that money was spent reasonably wisely. Regards Patrick