The Queenstown Lakes District Council will be asked to consider approving a further $26,400 at its meeting next week to help fund community forums, discussing the need for an independent events organisation and an economic future agency.
If approved as part of the 2011-12 Annual Plan process, it will take the total money allocated to the consultation process to $51,400, along with $25,000 approved during the annual plan last year.
The report for the council, submitted by policy and planning general manager Philip Pannett and senior policy analyst Scott Figenshow, said the $25,000 committed to date would be "adequate" to continue contracted work on the community forums until June 30 this year.
However, an estimated budget for the forums the next financial year was $28,800.
A steering group, comprising mayor Vanessa van Uden, David Kennedy, of Ngai Tahu Tourism, Sue Coutts, of Wanaka Wastebusters, Alastair Porter, of the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce, farmer John Aspinall and council chief executive Debra Lawson, had requested the extra money be allocated in the 2011-12 annual plan.
The Centre for Sustainable Practice had committed to provide "120 hours of forum technical support by graduate students". The project would be overseen by the steering group and managed by the Centre for Sustainable Practice, both of which had given their time to manage the project.
Ms van Uden told the Otago Daily Times "a little bit" of the money allocated last year had been used. The remainder and the additional $26,400 was earmarked to run a total of four community forums - two forums on each proposal - over the next year to engage the community, formulate plans and fine-tune the establishment of the two agencies, if the community wanted them, Ms van Uden said.
The funding would not cover establishing the actual bodies, she said, when asked.
"If the outcome from the forums is that's what the community wants to do, ... then there will be the set-up money for those things [sought]."
The report also outlined a new community engagement process, called Shaping our Future, which would use a partnership agreement in an effort by "leading organisations" to share responsibility with the council for achieving the community's goals and vision.
The new process would be tested through the events and economic future organisations.
