G Perkins, Ocean Shores
I wonder how many people, such as myself, who are on a pension and just making ends meet feel like they are subsidising the tourist industry with the money they pay in rates?
I have always tried to live a simple, sustainable life growing my food, being mindful of my water usage and not creating much rubbish. These actions are not acknowledged at all by our ‘Green’ council. We are told to water our gardens minimally while the tourist industry has no restrictions.
The mega-festivals go ahead, and bring thousands more water consumers and rubbish makers here who outnumber residents, and obviously have no concern for the environment .
I recently contacted Rous County Council with my water saving suggestion, which was to allocate a reasonable amount of water to each resident and allow them to use their water in any way they choose but once the allocated amount is used up, the cost of water increases.
This would be much fairer and it would mean I, and others like me, could continue to grow our food, and those who are running a tourist business would pay for the water used by their guests and customers.
Rous County Council liked my idea and said other councils do have similar schemes in place.
We also need a similar ‘user pays’ system for rubbish collection. I create very little rubbish and would like to have an option to have a collection every couple of months and pay less, and let those who have full bins every week pay more.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
