South Waikato District Council incompetence (26 May, 2022)

[aardvark_admin]

This column is archived at: https://aardvark.co.nz/daily/2022/0526.shtml

How is it that people with so little competence get employed to positions where they can squander such huge sums of public money in a way that violates all the rules of commonsense?

At a time when prices are rising, inflation is soaring and incomes remain static, ratepayers can ill-afford to see their money wasted in such dramatic ways.

Then there's the hypocrisy of a council that wasted $18K telling residents to "support local" but which itself shops elsewhere for services that ultimately end up being completely at odds with all basic marketing and branding teachings.

Roll on October... let's get some sensible people in control!

[phord]

The first phase budget is $138,000 ...

... starts a conversation."

[granada29]

At least you have an award winning toilet to dispose of all that money.

[aardvark_admin]

At least you have an award winning toilet to dispose of all that money.

Yes, visitors, businesses and investors all flock to Tokoroa because we have award-winning toilets

[Geoffm]

At least you have an award winning toilet to dispose of all that money.

Yes, visitors, businesses and investors all flock to Tokoroa because we have award-winning toilets

And even for toilets, they are second best at most. Kawakawa has that claim already with the Hunderwasser loos.
I agree that this whole exercise reeks of tick box diversity woke-ism. Teh only surpriose is that it si the sort of thing that I woudl have expected out of marketing people in inner city Auckland or Wellington. Meybe they are escapees. I bet the lunches and smoozing that led to this contract were pretty good.

[aardvark_admin]

The irony of thise woke-ism is that South Waikato will have a RACE-BASED branding -- far from the woke ideals that were probably set.

[jo2lo]

"our new district identity will support our strategic growth objectives"
You have to love the local government "DoubleSpeak" in their efforts to obfuscate why they are spending so much of rate payers' funds!

[phill]

i have to say they got a few things right
from their own experience they knew the people of tok / south wai are far too incompetent to hire as planners
ie they didn't have to look far to see where south wai thinking had fuked up

they probably looked at rotovegas and saw how well maori branding had done for them .. and they added island as a pod
the fact that south wai is already branded into most minds as dairy farms and rural doesnt come into it
neither does the dearth of large maori ( or even island ) cultural sites .. perhaps they are just thinking of the old abandoned saw mills

[greven]

In such a small town, there would likely be cries of nepotism no matter which local company won the bid (assuming there is more than one professional marketing agency in the South Waikato?) Given this situation, it makes total sense to bring in an agency from outside the district.

[phill]

I Given the local success rate it makes total sense to bring in an agency from outside the district.

FIFY