The Clutha District Council released results from its survey on planned local government reforms, as it seeks to position itself before a government deadline of August 9.
The government has given councils until the deadline to put forward ‘‘Head Start’’ proposals detailing their preferred options for ‘‘simplifying’’ local government through amalgamation of councils.
Clutha District Mayor Jock Martin said the localised survey was an opportunity to gain more insight from communities on topics important to them when considering the council’s response.
Mr Martin said 214 people participated in the two-week survey, which ended on June 30.
All wards had seen a good number of submissions, he said.
A majority of 57.4% favoured a separate, rural-focused amalgamation, while 29.7% were in favour of an Otago-wide option.
Sentiment captured in the survey expressed concern merging with other councils might not guarantee reduced costs.
Some noted Clutha had a small rating base and could not afford to ‘‘go it alone’’.
Others worried rural areas would be underfunded and under-represented, leading to a loss of the district’s overall identity.
One unnamed submitter said cost savings were essential if amalgamation was to be successful.
‘‘[It is important] that communities don’t become invisible through scale and neither should the loudest receive the most attention.
‘‘Equity in efficient service delivery with less cost than the status quo has to be the primary objective,’’ they said.
In May, Otago Mayoral Forum members, including Clutha, agreed to work together on the reforms.
The starting point proposed by the government was creating a unitary authority within Otago.
However, the government also said it would consider more than one unitary authority in a region where the area was large enough and had more complex issues.
‘‘I want to assure people that when the other four mayors and I set the agenda, I will be advocating for the Clutha district,’’ Mr Martin said.
‘‘At this stage, we don’t know exactly what the best outcome for Clutha will be.
‘‘However, with a hand on my heart, I want to be able to capture as much feedback and insight from the community as possible, to help guide future decisions.’’
