The Local Government Commission Southland reorganisation investigation was presented to the council at the meeting earlier this month.
The investigation is expected to commence later this year, and the timeline is expected to continue until April of 2027 if fully investigated or earlier, if it is deemed unfeasible.
Gore District Council CFO and general manager of corporate support Lornae Smith attended a joint meeting held between the various Southland councils to discuss collaboration moving forward with the investigation.
The meeting discussed concerns over the timeframes described as "restrictive" and resource allocation for staff with already busy work schedules and sought to be more proactive with the process when providing feedback to LGNZ.
Further cost analysis for phase one of the investigation so councils can be aware of just how expensive the process will be was also mentioned.
However the Southland District Council was absent from this meeting, despite having made the initial proposal for amalgamation, much to the confusion of the table.
Mayor Ben Bell said there was a distinct lack of communication between the councils, and Cr Paul McPhail did not mince words opening up criticism of their neighbouring entity.
"I smell a rat. Are they really interested in collaborating? Because I know they started the project. I’d be interested to find out if they are."
Cr Andy Fraser said he also had concerns over budgets, calling out Southland Mayor Rob Scott as not being receptive to other councils he was seeking to amalgamate with.
"If Mayor Scott had actually come here and discussed how he came up with his budget, we’d have an understanding," he said.
Cr Bronwyn Reid inquired around the table if there was an "irony" in Southland not being a part of the combined water services.
Mr Bell replied it was not for staff to answer, but agreed and called it a good point, before inquiring around the various scale of voter base from the four parties, worrying a larger base like Invercargill could "devalue" a voter base like Gore.
Mrs Smith said she would inquire on this topic, with the motion to receive the report passing through to debate.
Mr Bell said he was concerned around the lack of community involvement, as he did not want to chase a golden goose, just to end up with a lame duck.
"We need to bring them along for the journey, otherwise it’ll end up like every other amalgamation proposal in the past, it goes to the polls and fails.
"It does make me nervous. We’ll do all this work, it won’t mean anything, and we’ll have just wasted a bunch of money,"
Cr Neville Phillips agreed, saying the district needed to know if it was good for them and also affordable.
Cr Stewart MacDonell, originally curious around amalgamation, said they were "going about it all wrong", with a mismatch of rural and city interests and no clear savings he found "gobsmacking".
