Boards' future in jeopardy

Dunedin's community boards could be heading for extinction, removing a long-held link between the public and the council - and the hefty bill they incur.

But the board chairmen warned at a council meeting yesterday to debate Dunedin's 2015 representation review proposal that they, and the communities they served, would fight for their survival.

All six community board chairmen attended the extraordinary meeting.

The council voted 11 to 3 in favour of putting the proposal out for public consultation, which will run for a month from June 27.

The review proposed Dunedin's six community boards have their boundaries adjusted to ensure urban areas are not covered.

It suggested two of those boards, the Strath Taieri and Mosgiel Taieri boards, be amalgamated into one Taieri Rural board, with Mosgiel's urban area and North Taieri's lifestyle area no longer represented.

It also proposed cutting the number of elected representatives on each board from six to four.

It also suggested the next representation review in six years' time could propose the removal of all community boards.

Waikouaiti Coast chairman Gerard Collings said it was ''imperative'' community board representation continued.

Chalmers chairman Steve Walker said the demise of the boards would be ''a tremendously sad day''.

Otago Peninsula chairwoman Christine Garey said that her community would not let the boards die ''without a fight''.

Dunedin's six community boards cost the city $323,400 a year in salaries, DCC group manager corporate services Sandy Graham said yesterday.

That figure did not include administrative costs.

The review's proposed changes would save the council $153,300.

However, such a figure could be misleading, Ms Graham said, as remuneration for community boards was set by the Remuneration Authority, and could change if the proposals were implemented.

The representation review panel, chaired by Associate Prof Janine Hayward, of the University of Otago, said its research showed people were divided on the value of community boards.

The panel said the boards were allocated $10,000 in yearly funding that other communities did not receive, an inconsistency it called ''difficult to justify''.

It also noted ''administrative overheads and governance and accountability obligations that are a disproportionate share of their total cost to the council''.

The panel said that there were ''serious questions'' about whether the current community board model provided ''fair and effective representation''.

While the report did not suggest scrapping all community boards, it suggested ''a transition'' to reduce the number of boards, and the number of people serving on them.

''We encourage the next review [scheduled for six years' time] to continue this transition and further reduce the number of boards to retain community board representation for rural Dunedin only.''

The report urged ''a careful consideration of the need to retain a rural community board'' in the future.

Mayor Dave Cull said the review panel had no chance of not ruffling some feathers, and it was now up to the public to make their views heard.

''I want to hear what the community has to say.''

Crs Andrew Noone, Neville Peat and Andrew Whiley voted against the proposal. Lee Vandervis was not present.

The final decision will be made by the Local Government Commission early next year.

 


Community boards
The proposal

• Cut community boards from six to five.

• Reduce number of elected representatives on each board from six to four.

 

What happens next

June 27-July 27: Public submissions.

August 10-14: Submissions heard.

August 24: Council considers submissions.

September 2-October 2: Public appeals.

October 2015: Appeals and objections sent to Local Government Commission.

April 10, 2016: Final decision.

 

What they cost

• Community boards have a remuneration budget of about $50,000

• Board members earn from $7000 to $9000 a year.

• Board chairmen earn double that.

• DCC's total bill for board members is $323,400 (not including administration costs).


 

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