Balclutha’s five council candidates and the district’s two mayoral hopefuls took to the stage at the South Otago Town & Country Club last week to share their hopes and ambitions for the next local government triennium, in front of an audience of about 100.
The night was hosted by Clutha Concerned Citizens, an online group founded by Phil Barrett, who is standing for one of two seats in the Balclutha ward.
Candidates had been primed with prepared questions covering topics from wrangling mounting council debt to the controversial planned $19.4 million Milton Pool replacement, expected to be finalised shortly.
In regards to debt, council candidates advocated solutions including more careful auditing of contracts and contractors to cutting back on infrastructure spending.
Mr Barrett said budgets needed to be ‘‘scrutinised’’ to avoid blowouts, and staff reporting improved to allow overspending to be avoided in advance.
Rachel Harrison acknowledged ratepayers were ‘‘doing it tough’’, and urged rethinking of project spending on ‘‘nice-to-haves’’.
Ruth Baldwin, a former teacher at Kaitangata School, said only pushback against central government edicts on council spending could help curb rising debt for locals.
Brendon Smith said he would ‘‘look, learn and listen’’ to ensure council spent ratepayer money more wisely, while holding contractors accountable.
Incumbent Balclutha ward councillor Wayne Felts, who is standing for a third term, said sometimes unpopular decisions needed to be made by councillors, when they were in the best interests of the district .
Mr Felts said the Milton Pool was not a ‘‘nice-to-have’’, but an essential asset for Clutha as a whole.
Mayoral candidates Jock Martin and Ken Payne — both incumbent councillors — spoke with passion and clarity about the challenges facing anyone standing for council this coming term.
Mr Martin said his years spent running a successful business meant he knew how to ‘‘make do where you need to, and spend where it makes sense’’.
‘‘Let’s make the whole of the Clutha District great again,’’ he concluded.
Mr Payne said it was important to make ‘‘balanced, localised, common sense‘‘ decisions regarding council expenditure, while working to reduce debt.
‘‘We need to balance the books, but not at the cost of our children’s future.’’
Milton Rotary hosts a candidates night at the Milton Coronation Hall at 7pm, Tuesday.
