Sell Carisbrook To The Highest Bidder

Carisbrook should be sold to the highest bidder. The council would then be able to pay back the loans that were raised to buy it. The council would then be no longer responsible for interest payments, maintenance and demolition costs.
And the new owner could put Carisbrook to productive use, perhaps as industrial land, providing jobs and contributing to the city's economy.
But I think that the Council will be reluctant to take this course of action because the sale price of Carisbrook is likely to be much less than the $7 million which was paid for it.

DCC Rates Guest House Out Of Business

The ODT reports that luxury guest house, Norfolk House, has decided to close down rather than pay the the Dunedin City Council's massive rates bill. The Council's decision to change the rating from residential to commercial increased the rates bill from $2900 to $9800. This made the business no longer viable.
We are regularly told by the the Council of the economic benefits from Council activities, but we are never told about the harm that they cause:

• Council spending must be paid for by rates which are a cost on business. Businesses pay a penal rate which is many times that of residential properties. If a business is marginal, then high rates may cause it to close.
• High Council fees for resource consents, and other "services", have a similar effect.
• Excessive rules and regulations prevent, or cause intolerable delays, in potential business activities.

The lesson of economic history is the money is more wisely spent by those who have earned it than by bureaucrats and politicians.

Pay Rise For Harland Not Justified

The ODT reports that Dunedin City Council Chief Executive, Jim Harland, has been awarded a pay rise after his annual appraisal after Councillors and senior staff rated his performance. If ratepayers were asked to rate Harland's performance then I am sure that they would find many reasons why this pay rise is not justified:

• He has already has had a big pay increase from $208,000 in 2004 to the current $355,000. The is more than a fair salary for his role.
  
• Most other Council, Government, and private-sector staff are having nil, or very-low, pay increases.
  
• Harland's time at the DCC has been marked by Empire-building and a massive increase in spending . This has resulted in many years of large rates increases and there are many more years of large rates increases to come.
• The last year has been marked by major bungles such as the Harbourside debacle, and multiple bungles in Parking.
  

$3.3 Million Blowout In Old Gasworks Costs

A Dunedin City Council report shows a $3.3 million blowout in the cost of restoring the old Gasworks. An extra $345,000 is required this year and an extra $1 million in 2012/2013 and 2013/2014. This follows a regular pattern in DCC projects where approval is gained by claiming only a relatively small amount of money will be required, and then "unexpectedly" finding that costs are much greater.
Councilor Michael Guest is not impressed and said that:

someone's head should roll

This comment is ironic considering that Guest is a strong Stadium supporter, and the same thing could be said about that project.
In a private business, those responsible for bungles such as this, are not going to remain in their jobs for very long. But Council staff never seem to be held accountable. Perhaps from the Council's point-of-view, it is actually successful empire-building.