Citizens Advocacy Tauranga president Leo Mangos is calling Mayor Stuart Crosby and the city councillors' behaviour over the Hayden Evans saga, proof of their inability to govern.
'Business leaders around New Zealand are reading about Tauranga's dysfunctional city council and noting Tauranga's lack of political stability and professionalism,” says Leo.

Leo Mangos.

'These regional attributes are important considerations for any large company planning to invest in the region.”
He was referring to a story SunLive.co.nz broke last week about councillor Mike Baker shunning councillor Hayden Evans over a conversation he secretly recorded in the councillors' lounge.
Leo believes this kind of behaviour indicates that the mayor and councillors have no plans or credible ideas for generating the wealth required to repay the city's growing debt.
'Instead of spending their time and our money sitting outside the lunchroom and releasing press statements to national newspapers, which debase our city's reputation, these councillors should be investing their time and our money sorting out the mess they are creating,” says Leo.
Here are a few suggestions for council:
Read the Southern Pipeline peer review, which states the council has not adopted industry best practice, and that alternative, cheaper options should be explored.
Read and question the Mount Hot Pools business case, which is woefully inadequate and would be thrown out of any commercial investor's office. It's full of assumptions that will never come to fruition and will leave ratepayers seriously out of pocket – again.
Research and understand how Hamilton plans to build an eight court indoor sports centre in 2014 for $22.6 million, then compare that to the $41 million construction cost and $6 million a year ongoing rates contribution for the nine court Tauranga facility.
Analyse how and why Tauranga City Council staff numbers have increased 26 per cent during the current term, and why council's employee costs are planned to increase 8.4 per cent this year.
'Tauranga residents and potential investors in our region will be much more assured if they read National headlines about our councillors actually doing their job,” says Leo.
'Instead, all they have to read about is Tauranga's low average incomes, the council's huge rates increases, massive debt and now the petty personal politics our councillors are engaging in.”