Despite an outpouring of community opposition, the Queenstown Lakes District Council is sticking to its guns and says it has no obligation to consult the public on its organisational review.
Mayor Vanessa van Uden and QLDC chief executive Adam Feeley yesterday released an open letter addressed to residents responding to public concern over proposed staffing cuts at the district's libraries and calls for wider consultation.
The draft proposals were a matter between Mr Feeley and his staff and could not ''appropriately be regarded as a matter of sufficient magnitude to warrant public consultation'', the letter said.
''Accordingly, the council is satisfied that consultation, beyond staff members, is not formally required, nor could it in good conscience commit public resources to consulting, on a matter where neither the Act nor our Significance Policy contemplates consultation.''
The council's threshold for determining whether an issue requires consultation is based on whether it will significantly affect the capacity of, or cost to, the council to carry out an activity identified in the 10-year plan.
''Our 10-year plan promises to provide libraries at specified locations; assistance to customers wishing to access books and information; space for people wishing to study and learn; and a range of books and other resources. None of these fundamentals will change under the proposed changes to the structure and resourcing of QLDC,'' Mr Feeley and Ms van Uden wrote.
While the council was obligated under the Local Government Act to consider the views of all of its communities when deciding on important issues, if every issue were consulted on, local government would be ''paralysed''.
Protect Wanaka Library group organiser Nicola Martinovich said the community had been ''burnt by the 'trust us, we know what we're doing' approach'' before.
''We are on our third version of the `more effective and efficient' means of delivering our planning services. Every time, we get told we'll save money and get better service,'' Mrs Martinovich said.
''We think the council is still underestimating how much our community value our library staff and the services we get from them.''
The letter reiterated the review was still in draft form only, and aimed to improve services, not diminish them. Mrs Martinovich said the group would continue to seek more information.
