Wellington Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman James Ross reacted with horror at reports Wellington Chief Operating Officer, James Roberts, approved a $600,000 spend on a new library website and portal.

“That’s now $600,000 on a website and a planned $400,000 on an opening party for a library. Council bureaucrats thinking nothing of wasting 200 households’ yearly rates bills on a glitzy Rolls-Royce-style launch package is exactly why nothing comes cheap in this city.”

“We simply do not understand the continued mentality of the senior executives running the council. There is no financial discipline, no idea about sensible spending, and no respect for the ratepayers who pay their wages. How on Earth can Chief Operating Officer James Roberts justify this spend?”

“When a council spokesperson said it was highly unlikely a similar project would be approved today, that is an admission they know they’ve messed up. So where is the accountability, and who’s getting sacked?”

“If the Town Clerk, Matt Prosser, can’t give long-suffering Wellington ratepayers an indication of when his rich-lister senior management team will stop spending money like it’s going out of fashion, maybe he needs a reality check.”