Now, after months in recess awaiting the arrival of fresh blood to fight the Dunedin City Council, the group is facing possible extinction next month.
The fate of the association will be decided at a public meeting scheduled for November 9, secretary-treasurer Neville Poole confirmed yesterday.
Mr Poole (68) said he was filling in as the group's spokesman, as former chairman Syd Adie had retired and the only other remaining active member, fellow long-serving council critic Lucas Vorgers (81), was recuperating after an operation.
"I'm the only one that hasn't collapsed yet," Mr Poole told the Otago Daily Times.
Next month's meeting, to be held at the Pioneer Women's Hall, would be an opportunity to discuss the future of the organisation and any concerns those attending brought with them, Mr Poole said.
A good turnout could lead to new officers being elected at a second, more formal, general meeting, he said.
But a lack of support would mean the association would "cease to be an entity", he warned.
"It would be a pity to lose it just for the sake of people not caring," he said.
The association has been battling the council since its inception as the Rate Crisis Committee in 1988.
A change of name, to the association's existing title, came the following year.
Mr Poole said membership used to be in the "hundreds", but had dwindled in recent years as people defected to the more confrontational Stop the Stadium.
The association had preferred to try to engage with the council over issues of concern.
Next month's meeting had been prompted by a steady stream of complaints received by the three men by people upset about Forsyth Barr Stadium charges appearing on their rates bills, Mr Poole said.
However, those upset with the council needed to do more than just complain, he believed.
"Everybody is moaning, everybody is whinging, but that's all they want to do - moan and whinge.
"They expect someone else to do it for them," he said.
Many had believed the maximum cost they would face was $66, and some were aghast to receive city council bills with larger amounts, as well as a second charge from the Otago Regional Council, he said.
Council staff and councillors have previously said the $66 figure was an average based on property values, and that regional council bills would contain an additional cost.
