My letter to the ODT:
“Don’t see the value”. Letter to the ODT Editor
Dear Barry,
Mayor Hawkins “don ‘t see the value in us going through a process where we significantly reconfigure what it is that we offer our community.” [ODT 1/5/20] He and Cr.Benson-Pope want the $60 million George st/Exchange ‘surface treatments’ project to proceed and the DCC pre-covid budget to mostly continue in blind ignorance of the economic world that has suddenly vastly contracted, along with Dunedin citizen’s ability to pay rates and Council Companies’ ability to pay dividends. We can do it on “increased debt” Hawkins says, proving his total lack of business understanding and the weakness in our already budgeted BILLION$ DCC group debt.
Kind regards,
Cr. Lee Vandervis
Lee Vandervis 
Things were bad enough with the Bridge to nowhere fantasy but since the COVID-19 outbreak our ability as ratepayers to fund even the basics of essential infrastructural costs will be difficult. Hawkins needs to get REAL.