David Merlino – third on mayor Rod Kendall’s Next Generation ticket – is a born and bred Wagga businessman. 

What are the biggest issues Wagga faces?

Everyone's scared to invest in business or put on more employees and growth is very stagnant.

There’s obvious issues with road infrastructure and sporting facilities, but what concerns me is current councillors of 10 or 15 years saying they’ll fix it.

It’s amazing what experienced councillors will say when an election’s on, we need to honestly ask ourselves what councillors have done in the last 15 years..

Are we suffering from brain drain, where educated and amitious kids leave Wagga?

Yes. 

We're losing smart young people because there's nowhere for them to work unless they study medicine.

The quality coming out of CSU is exceptional but you can’t be an IT programmer, games designer or architect in Wagga unless you wait around for a rare job opening.

The Riverina has the lowest unemployment rate in regional NSW, but could council do more to help Wagga businesses?

Yes.

The main focus of council should be to keep businesses afloat and growing, not putting hurdles in their way.

I have spoken to a local food outlet in a lane-way, where for some reason onions where found in a nearby gutter and all of the sudden council was clamping down and fining them instead of helping to resolve their shortcoming. 

It’s the same for builders, who get held up because silly issues completely stall the approval process; there has to be more flexibility.

As an IT expert, is council using technology to its best advantage?

I’m not involved with council’s IT system, so I’m not 100 per cent sure, but council could use its websites and online forums to much greater effect.

Communicating with paper costs money, it’s a lot cheaper to maintain website and online communication tools. 

Is council communicating or engaging with the community well enough?

No one from council has ever asked me or my business what I think the city needs and I don’t know how to give my feedback to council.

Asking people to come to council meetings is never going to work.

Council should see engagement like running a business; if you don't communicate clients move on, just like industry moved to Albury.

Albury council took a short-term loss by waiving rates until new businesses were established and reaped a long-term gain.

But the other reason is communication; how many industries know Bomen is getting a huge upgrade with revolutionary new rail transport?