ROSA WOODS/STUFF Andrea Jewell with her children Otto, 7, and Thea, 5, who were roused from bed by the fireworks display that cost Wellington more than $175,000. Wellington City Council spent more than $175,000 on a fireworks display that exploded over a city facing a funding crisis, a rates hike, and a range of controversial cuts. The council is considering a rates rise of up to 17 per cent and is scrambling to save money as it deals with a wave of big costs such as ageing pipes, a Central Library refit, and the Let’s Get Wellington Moving transport package. The council last week ditched an idea, proposed by Mayor Andy Foster, to save $120,000 in the coming year by getting rid of a programme of free pool entry for under-fives. But others remaining in the queue for possible cuts include a new Chinese gardens, cutting of some library funding for books, and some capital replacements.