Cr Hovell recently announced he would not run for re-election, retiring from local government.
Although he had stayed mostly silent on the issue of amalgamation, Cr Hovell said the state of local government had changed dramatically since the first amalgamation back in the ’80s.
The current proposal, put forth by the Southland District Council, might not cut the mustard and it might be worth looking at an even grander scale, he said.
"Even 100,000 people in Southland isn’t an economic unit when it comes to people.
"We need to be thinking not only beyond our own district boundaries, but also beyond the region, joining areas like Clutha and Central Otago."
Instead, Mr Hovell suggested joint contracts and further collaboration between councils might help ease the strain on local government.
"Amalgamation by itself is some time off. We’ve been very fortunate in Southland to have a few combined committees.
"We don’t need amalgamation to happen, we can bring the benefits to the public and the ratepayer by working smarter with the other councils, in terms of joint contracts," he said.
The council has been working with Central Otago and Clutha District Council on a proposed joint council-controlled organisation (CCO) to provide water services across the councils.
Although, the Waitaki District Council voting against joining the CCO.
These kinds of joint operations could help ease the burden on ratepayers which could be lifesaving for a smaller district like Gore, Cr Hovell said.
"Gore is always going to be paying more for for a unit of roading, water services, the rest of it because we’re smaller.
"If we’re a part of a larger buying unit we can bring the benefits. Think of the power we would have in terms of roading contracts if we were working together," he said.
These co-operative measures were key as councils began to share resources and information between each other, he said.
"In the short and mid term, that is the answer. By osmosis, or whatever, it will transform them into a single political unit.
"What that should be like, I’m not sure. We still have to ensure local representation.
"The bigger the unit, the more thoughts needs to be given to keep people involved," he said.
