Elected representatives must remember they are servants of those who elected them. It is totally inappropriate for a bureaucrat or a mayor to make decisions without regard to the clear consensus of ratepayers. And ratepayers have to hold their elected representatives to account, including a mayor.

The Three Waters is an excellent example of where ratepayers have made it abundantly clear that they don't want a bar of Minister Nanaia Mahuta's massive grab of their assets, paid for by ratepayers over generations. But Mayor Garry Webber is on Mahuta's committee helping to introduce this grandiose scheme, designed around tribal boundaries, with ratepayers having little or no say as to what will happen to the costs and their assets. The latest shareholding proposal is just a joke.

Here we go again: Suddenly it's amalgamation. No consultation with councillors, and the community knows nothing, but the Western Bay of Plenty Mayor is now saying amalgamation with Tauranga has to happen. Just like he did with the Three Waters.

Experience shows that there are no savings to be made from amalgamation, and no benefit for the smaller community. Big dominates any change. So before we all get carried away with this latest mayoral outburst, let's do some homework.

M Murray-Benge, Bethlehem.