This cartoon from 1957 sums up the nature of a lot of NZ local councils.
Councilors usually have to decide which will make their lives easier — keep the people, the Ratepayers, happy or submit to the wants of the bureaucrats: the two are often not compatible. In the KCDC the present mayor and all present councilors except David Scott decided to opt for the latter (and we know what happened to him as a result).
Back in 2015, we recommended watching the British comedy series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister as they showed how the the civil service influences, manipulates and cajoles elected government members.
It would be so nice to have a council where the policy is driven by binding ratepayers referenda, although the council staff would fight it tooth and nail. Clearly though the current drove of councillors and mayor have to be replaced. Then there is the wee problem of paying back the positively enormous debt the has been run up together with cutting the crippling rates raises which have been inflicted on the community. A shewed finance person is a must this time round, one who doesn’t think that spending $500,000 plus on a review is the answer to all our problems.