Eleven questions were posed including whether councillors agreed there was a need to simplify local government and what they thought of the proposed approach.
At its core, the proposal would replace regional councillors with a board of local mayors, known as a Combined Territories Board (CTB).
Mrs Tavendale said that while there was a need to find the most ‘‘cost-effective processes’’ they wanted the best version of local government for the district.
‘‘We want to ensure that we don’t jump to lines on a map but that we have a good, robust process sitting in behind it,’’ she said.
The council’s draft proposal submits that any meaningful reform of local government must begin with a clear definition of outcomes.
Mrs Tavendale said it was essential there were conversations about costs.
The third question asked whether the council agreed with replacing regional councillors with a CTB.
‘‘We believe there needs to be a focus for the CTB and that needs to be on the regional organisation plan, ’’ Mrs Tavendale said.
As a second stage, CTBs would be tasked with developing a “regional reorganisation plan” within two years. CTBs would be required to review council arrangements and develop a plan to improve the delivery of regional services.
‘‘Trying to have a group of mayors govern their own councils, manage the regional organisation plan, and then also govern regional councils as a group is a distraction and it’s too much. We think the focus needs to be on the regional organisation and our own councils,’’ Mrs Tavendale said.
She said they were ‘‘staying silent’’ on what that might look like but retaining skill sets and knowledge was key.
Cr John McCone said he was ‘‘touchy’’ on question six. Do you agree that mayors on the CTB should have a proportional vote adjusted for effective representation.
He said half the problem councils were experiencing now was a populationbased system in which the urban people would get the majority of the vote as opposed to what the provincial need would be for a district that is split as Waitaki, the only one of its kind in the South Island.
Cr Hana Fanene-Taiti reflected concerns also raised by Cr Jim Hopkins and Cr McCone, saying the rural and provincial needs versus the metro areas should be expressed explicitly in the proposal, particularly with further government reforms around vocation, education and healthcare access.
‘‘We should make sure our rural voice is heard but still achieve what we need to within the process,’’ she said.
The draft proposal presented by policy lead Victoria van der Spek was approved with recommendations to go to the Department of Internal Affairs.
