New ORC Headquarters : The Next Battle

In an Opinion piece in the ODT, Otago Regional Councillor Doug Brown raises questions over the Council's new harbour front office project. This will be the next ratepayers battle, after the Stadium debate is decided, one way or the other, in the coming days.
Doug puts forward these issues:

• Lack of consultation
• The large increase in cost
• The requirement of funds for other projects

The funds for the new building may come from Port Otago dividends, but it is not true to say that this spending does not affect rates. The dividends could just as easily be used to cover other spending which is ratepayer funded.

We do not need a palace for bureaucrats and politicians.