Southland District Council has opted to submit a merger proposal for local government reform, despite community preference saying otherwise.

On Wednesday, councillors voted to support a proposal for two councils to govern the region — a Southland-Gore unitary council and Invercargill unitary council.

But the decision is at odds with the results of a recent district council survey which showed although 76% of respondents preferred a two-council structure, the majority also felt the council should not submit a two-council Head Start proposal.

Of the 142 people who responded, 55% preferred no proposal, 40% agreed it should be submitted, and seven did not respond.

A report prepared for the meeting said concern was less about the proposed structure more about speed, process and a perceived lack of scrutiny.

Cr Paul Duffy noted the survey result and questioned if pushing ahead with a proposal left the council open to accusations of not listening, but Southland Mayor Rob Scott said communications could go out with an explanation.

Councils have until the end of this week to submit a proposal for a larger unitary council under the government’s Head Start process, or face having a plan imposed on them.

A two-council option has been promoted by Southland District Council long before the government’s Head Start announcement in May, and is already being investigated through a separate Local Government Commission process.

Mr Scott described lodging a Head Start proposal as hedging bets and pointed out the commission process could fall over, which would leave the council stranded.

Ultimately, Cr Matt Wilson was the only member to vote against submitting a proposal after raising concerns there was no mandate to support a two-council set-up.

He also reiterated concerns about the council engaging in a long-term plan process, which followed an email he sent to members from all four Southland councils last Friday saying it was “financially reckless” to deliver new long-term plans given the impending shake-up of local government.

Mr Scott defended the council continuing with a long-term plan process on Wednesday, saying the council still needed to plan and look at its needs.

The Local Government Commission is investigating two options for Southland — a single region-wide unitary council, or two unitary councils.

There was no hierarchy between the Head Start process or that being undertaken by the commission, the district council report noted.

If the commission’s investigation led to a plan for a new structure, a poll would be taken requiring a 50% vote for reorganisation to proceed, it said.

On Tuesday, Gore District Council decided to keep its options open by exploring reform proposals from both the district council and Invercargill City Council.

The city council will make its decision on lodging a Head Start proposal on Thursday, but has already backed a single authority running the region.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.