A fear in 1989 when regional councils were created was that they would become empires in their own right, that ratepayers would fund not only their city and district councils but also another expensive layer.
On the whole, the Otago Regional Council has a reasonable history of running economically, so much so that at times it bore unfair criticism for frugality.
The fear now, however, is that the approach has changed and the ratepayers' burden will steadily increase.
The council's flagship, the planned $30.4 million harbourside building, reflects extravagant and worrying attitudes.
What looks more and more like a vanity project - with its 360deg views as described in one council document - has seen estimated costs explode from suggestions in 2006 that a new building somewhere in Dunedin could cost $12.5 million.
Because about 105 people work at present in the Stafford St site, the new total works out at a staggering $290,000 a person, although part of the ground floor could be rented out.
In the justifications for the new building, the council has estimated it will have up to 140 Dunedin-based staff in the next 10 to 12 years.
That would still equate to $243,000 for each staff member.
Just as worrying for ratepayers are the predictions of a third more staff and the extra costs that entails.
While almost all agree the current Stafford St building is inadequate, other options should be found.
One suggestion worth exploring is conversion of the former chief post office, now up for mortgagee sale.
The building cries out for refurbishment and reuse, and the 100 staff plus visitors would give that area of the city a much-needed boost.
Bus access is also far better than for the harbourside and parking is easier there than in the north of the business district.
One of the reasons the plan has got this far is because of the overwhelming attention to stadium funding.
Such large figures are being thrown around by both the city and regional council in this regard, and for sewerage and water works, that a mammoth figure like $30.4 million does not seem, at first glance, so horrendous.
Dunedin's resources have to go on sewerage and water and the planned spending on the stadium makes it imperative that money is spent with great care elsewhere.
The very "vision" for the building speaks of ambitions that few private companies would consider these days; "commands identity, invites communities, gives leadership, has professional style, speaks innovation, has technical excellence".
Claims that the building will not have a significant impact on Otago ratepayers are disingenuous.
Funding might largely come from asset replacement reserves, the sale of the existing building, special dividends and from special and general reserves, but all the money and assets, one way or another, belong to ratepayers. Spending on the building will mean less money available for other purposes (or rates should be lower) and the depletion of the reserves buffer.
Fewer dividends will be also be available to subsidise rates.
And while the regional council might have kept the general rate increase to 1%, common increases of 10% to 20% in targeted rates, which make up a large part of many bills, are too high.
The subsidies for Dunedin's buses are climbing steadily every year and costs for the Leith flood protection scheme have ballooned.
Many other parts of Otago each face their own specific imposts, with the worst overall case in percentage terms a 138% increase to $160 for the owner of a $500,000 Arrowtown home.
While the regional council seems to want to blow its legacy of prudence and replace it with a waterfront monument, it is not too late for public opposition, nor for councillors to draw back from the brink.
The plan might have reached an advanced stage with little public debate, but concerned ratepayers can still voice their views through the current regional council annual plan.
The draft plan was adopted last week, including funding for the building, and hearings must be held on that before it is adopted in a few months.
