Museum Referendum Pointless

The Tauranga City Council are about to hit the local ratepayers with the bill for a $25 million dollar museum.
In an effort to be seen to be doing the democratic thing, they were going to spend $120,000 on a referendum.
Some councillors objected to this obscene waste of money so they have instead opted to spend $25,000 on phoning up 1000 local VOTERS (not even ratepayers) in a PHONE referendum!
A local RATEPAYER by the name of Ken Evans, has started an online petition, TOTALLY FREE OF CHARGE TO ANYBODY, and will pass on the results to the council.
Tauranga mayor, Stuart Crosby is quoted in the paper saying that the accuracy of his 100 VOTER referendum would be far greater than the online petition Mr Evans has set up. (to which I say BOLLOCKS!)
Here are my thoughts, in a letter to the editor on the subject.

No matter what the outcome of a referendum of any description, I will put money on the fact that the council will proceed with a ratepayer-funded museum regardless. Not all of us are as gullible or as stupid as they believe us to be! Stop wasting ratepayers money on pointless referendums and get on with the museum, as that is what you intend to do. None of you (councillors or mayor) have what it takes to come to any conclusion other than the use of force upon the helpless ratepayers, so the least you can do is stop treating us with such distain and contempt and have the courage of your misguided convictions - then at least when the elections come around again voters will have the opportunity to vote into power a DIFFERENT bunch of councillors (who will undoubtedly force upon us in the same mindless fashion a DIFFERENT wish-list.)
To make matters WORSE (if that is possible) the telephone referendum isn't even of RATEPAYERS only - it is of VOTERS! A bunch of people who do not even PAY rates will get a say in how the money stolen from the RATEPAYERS gets spent! How is THAT for a case of misguided justice - Oh well, they say the people get the government they deserve - That obviously aplies to local government as well.I'm off to the TAB to double my money so I can afford to pay the NEXT rates installment!

Graham Clark
15 poripori road
lower kaimai
543 0334