Source: Taxpayers Union
25 SEPTEMBER 2020FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Stratford District Council’s review of its logo is an embarrassing waste of time and money, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “Stratford District Councillors need to seriously re-evaluate their priorities. Time is money, and they’re wasting hours literally debating the shade of green used in a logo concept.” “While the budget for this new logo hasn’t been reported, the Council did run the numbers on a logo change back in 2014, and found that it would cost at least $65,000. That’s basically a lifetime of rates bills for a homeowner in the district, and it’s exactly the kind of low-priority spending that should be cut during a pandemic.” “Some would say the current logo looks like an awkward clip-art experiment. I think it’s fantastic. It’s got three different shading gradients. Impressive.””But none of this really matters. People who work at councils tend to obsess over branding because they’re looking at it every day, ratepayers will go on living their lives regardless of what’s on the Council letterhead.”“The Council should be laser-focused on minimising its rates burden, managing debt, and delivering the basic services that ratepayers expect.”
