Meet your councillor proves successful

By Frank Neill

Wellington City Councillor Ray Chung has begun “Meet Your Councillor” meetings this year, and they are proving very successful.

“I’m really pleased about these meetings,” says Cr Chung, who is one of the Wharangi/Onslow Western Ward Councillors.

“I want people to come and tell me what they are concerned about – what the council is doing right and what it’s doing wrong.”

Cr Chung has held two meetings at the Khandallah Town Hall, and plans to also hold meetings in Karori as soon as the community centre makes a room available.

The Khandallah meetings are held on the second Friday of every month, starting at 11am.

The first meeting was on 13 January. “I was very pleased with meeting 12 people at the first one,” Cr Chung says.

“At the first meeting, people said they were very concerned about what the council is spending money on.

“At last week’s one [held on 10 February and attended by five people] people were talking about the rates.

“People were saying it’s ludicrous what council is asking for,” he says. The people were referring to proposals for a rates increase of some 13%.

A more realistic figure would be 8% or even 6%.

“Everyone is welcome at the meetings,” Cr Chung adds, “including people who don’t live in the Onslow Western Ward.”