Christmas is nine days away; the new year is 15 days away. At this point, people within businesses and organisations sit back and have a think about who they are and where they’re going. They make resolutions for the coming year.

Do our councils do the same? More of the time, as a public service, councils are working their butts off, trying to get building or planning consents through the system. They know the public want to use the warmth, dry weather and ample sunlight to get jobs done, and sure, council workers take some time off to spend with their families.

A question – what happens to the projects councils have been working on?  WDC spent $200,000 fighting an appeal against the redevelopment of the Old Boys site, unsuccessfully, then went on to spend another $200,000 developing Plan Change 130 to allow bulk retail outlets there. Why is the public liable for this cost and not council? I’ve blogged about this before, and I stand by what I’ve said.  It is councillors who are in charge, and councillors I think should bear responsibility.

The Kaipara District Council might need to improve their game, too.  Residents using the Te Kopuru Sewerage Scheme have been paying for it for 33 years already, but the KDC has been trying to charge residents yet again. Remember, this is a council so inept that the government removed its councillors and replaced them with commissioners. Where has the money gone that was supposed to be set aside for the sewerage upgrades? How could the council be allowed to mishandle $57m? With no councillors to lay blame on, who is going to take responsibility for that mismanagement?

I do hope that for residents’ sake, the councils of Northland get it together. The public cannot afford to be living with the amount of debt we have up here, and I do hope councils start looking at how they can look after their ratepayers better, without costing them a fortune.

If you’re looking for a new year’s resolution, why not resolving to elect better councillors? Local government elections begin in July 2016 with nominations opening. There’s a month of campaigning, final candidates’ names are published, voting documents go out in September, and from October 2016, we may see some changes in how we’re represented locally.  But that’s up to you.

Sit back and reflect on how your council has represented you over the past 2-3 years. Perhaps on voting day, you can make a change.