D. SMITH’S letter “New councillors to deal with more than Uiver”, (The Border Mail, August 1) suggesting councillors concentrate on basic issues rather than pandering to minority groups deserves support.

These groups are almost out of control in their demands at a time when rates are at extortionate levels, despite the fact that all current councillors had financial responsibility as part of their last election platforms.

It should be understood by all these groups it is not the council that provides these funds but the ratepayers.

About 25 per cent of these ratepayers are at retirement age, some are self-funded retirees on fixed incomes and others on various pensions who are stretched to the limit.

We have the Cumberoona mob, the Uiver mob, the community centre mob, the basketball mob and others wanting ratepayers to support their little hobby horses, and the swimmers wanting a $20 million swimming hole, when the twin cities already have three 50m pools, three indoor 25m pools, two outdoor 25m pools, the river and the Hume Dam and hundreds of backyard pools.

The basketball protest is hard to follow when we remember that the stadium owes ratepayers $8 million since it was built and costs ratepayers up to $180,000 in running expenses each year.

Councillors were way out of line in giving the Border Bandits, a professional sporting team, a $20,000 grant.

It is up to that body to raise its own money and now a precedent has been set for every other sporting club to call on ratepayers when they feel the need for a financial handout.

It is not the role of the council to support any professional sporting body for this purpose.

The Cumberoona is the result of a gullible past council bailing out a bunch of enthusiastic incompetents, who had no idea what they were doing in the first place, and committing ratepayers to becoming stuck with the thing.

The offer to restore the Uiver replica should be jumped at.

The event is part of our history, but it is not “the plane” — put a photo display in the airport and let enthusiasts see it without cost to the rest of us.

What ratepayers really want to hear from candidates for the upcoming election is whether or not they are in it for just their own little self-interest groups, or for the community as a whole, and how they will attack the $100 million problem we have with our basic water, sewerage, garbage and roads obligations.

It will be interesting to see if any have guts enough or the knowledge to tell us.

— BERNIE BELL,

Albury