Boost for business raised at mayoral debate

If Mark Bell-Booth is elected Palmerston North mayor, there will be a "Festival of Revenue Revival".

Mr Bell-Booth floated the idea at a Manawatu Chamber of Commerce business-focused mayoralty forum, where he argued the city council should help businesses boost their revenue. "I'm determined to see Palmerston North come through this recession in the best shape possible," he said.

Mr Bell-Booth said a dramatic need existed for change at the council, but Mayor Jono Naylor said the city was "essentially on the right track".

Asked about leadership style, Mr Naylor said he drew the best out of people. This term of council had held together, despite some difficult personalities around the council table, he said.

Mr Bell-Booth said his approach was to empathise with people, step back and then make an often hard, but necessary, decision to get a solution. Ratepayers could not sustain continuing rate increases of about 5 per cent.

Most of the mayoralty candidates decried the amount of debt, projected to rise to $170 million by June 30, 2011.

Grant Seton said the city's interest bill was equal to the salaries of 480 council workers or 126 mayors.

Mr Naylor's total remuneration as mayor is $95,154.

Mr Naylor said that while the council had started repaying debt, he could not see it actually lowering the total amount. Managing debt in a sustainable way was important, but borrowing was necessary "to build the assets our community continues to need", he said.

Russell Johnson said the city council's executives needed a shake-up.

During an at-times bizarre debate, Naked Pie Man Leighton Haar described parking wardens as "the Hitlers of the city". He wanted the city to rip out its parking meters.

Mr Haar highlighted the budget blowout of The Square redevelopment and roads in that vicinity, which ended up costing the city $24m. Mr Bell-Booth led the council that pushed that through before he was voted out in 2004.

Mr Haar criticised Palmerston North for "trying to be Los Angeles", when it was just a "large country town".

Convicted fraudster Arshad Chatha several times singled out in the audience Crown prosecutor Ben Vanderkolk as the man who had him sent to prison. Asked for his view on debt, Mr Chatha said he learned to starve while in prison, and fasting was an approach the council could adopt on that issue.

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