Petition launched on Hamilton City Council name change

It is astounding that Hamilton City Council’s mayor is pushing a name change while Hamilton ratepayers face rate hikes of 9.5% a year, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, launching a petition on the issue.
 
Taxpayers' Union spokesperson Louis Houlbrooke says, “The Mayor should be dealing with a rates crisis, not spending even more ratepayer money on something completely non-essential.”
 
“When the smaller Stratford District Council changed its logo, it was estimated to cost at least $65,000. The cost to ratepayers will be far higher in Hamilton. Perhaps a better comparison is when Auckland’s tourism agency updated its slogan, costing ratepayers $500,000.”
 
“Even setting the cost aside, the Mayor insults ratepayers by prioritising window-dressing rather than improving the city’s finances or basic services. It looks like a classic political distraction – dead-cat-on-the-table style – so people don’t see the Mayor’s hands reaching deeper into ratepayer pockets.”
 
“These types of vanity projects are costing ratepayers across the country. We must send a message to mayors across the country that they are paid to serve ratepayers, not to craft legacies for themselves.”
 
The Taxpayers’ Union has launched a petition to encourage Hamilton City Councillors to vote down the name-change project at Thursday’s meeting. Sign the petition here:  https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/name_change_petition