Taupō is considering pushing back against the Government's looming council merger deadline amid fears every amalgamation option would leave the district "worse off".
Taupō District Council staff were directed in June to investigate four amalgamation options for elected members to consider.
The first three options included a potential amalgamation with the rest of the authorities of the soon-to-be-axed Waikato Regional Council, along with various combinations of Rotorua Lakes, Ruapehu, Waitomo, Ōtorohanga and South Waikato councils.
The fourth option is to wait for the Government to decide Taupō’s fate.
Elected members were to meet tomorrow to select their preferred option to put before central government.
In preparation for tomorrow’s meeting, council staff have drafted a paper recommending the council pushes back on Wellington’s forced reforms, saying forced amalgamations would be detrimental to the Taupō region.
“Based on the information that staff have presented, now is not the right time to put in a Head Start proposal for amalgamation,” the council said in a statement.
Taupō could be its own unitary authority
The Government has called for amalgamations, saying 78 councils across the country are too many.
In May, RMA Minister Chris Bishop and Local Government Minister Simon Watts set councils an ultimatum: “Lead your own reform or we will do it for you.”
Councils were given until August 8 to tell the ministers what their preferred reform options are.
Since then, council leaders all over the country have been in a frantic rush to find out who wants to be with them and who doesn’t.
However, Taupō council staff have now recommended that instead of telling the Government who they want to team up with, they should refuse to participate in the process, while asking for more time and flexibility to design the right option for their constituents.
The statement issued by staff gave a very simple reason for pushing back: “The key conclusion from all the analysis has shown that Taupō District would likely be worse off under any amalgamation.”
While council staff admitted their assessment was not complete, they had endeavoured to conduct as much financial and non-financial analysis by tomorrow’s hui.
However, their analysis thus far also indicated Taupō could be sustainable and viable as its own unitary authority.
“If the council is forced to amalgamate, then a sub-regional unitary authority would be the next best option as it would deliver better long-term outcomes for the district compared to a single Waikato unitary authority,” the council said in the statement.
Elected member reactions
When Taupō elected members met in June, Taupō Ward councillor Rachel Cameron said the Government had pushed the council into a no-win situation, and the reforms would lead to a loss of local voice.
“I would very much like to include in any proposal [to the Government] how opposed we are to this process,” Cameron said.
When asked about the announcement council staff had made, Cameron told Local Democracy Reporting she was still working through the paper and had not come to a position yet.
“Let’s see what the discussion and debate bring on Tuesday as well as over subsequent weeks as the outcome of this process becomes more apparent to Central Government.”
Mangakino-Pouakani Ward councillor Hope Woodward said she was encouraged by the recommendations in the council paper.
“This is a huge decision, and we have to get it right,” Woodward said.
“We need measurable outcomes, secure local representation and systems that communities can have confidence in.
“We can’t just redraw the map; we have to fix the system.”
Keeping ‘Waikato Together’
Taupō Ward councillor Duncan Campbell wrote in a similar vein saying the reforms should answer the question of how regional government should work, as opposed to where its boundaries are drawn.
He’s proposing a concept called “Waikato Together“, which would use the boundaries of the soon-to-be-axed Waikato Regional Council as a basis.
It would be split into three areas and use Community Committees and Local Boards to ensure representation.
The combined area covered by Campbell’s proposal would cover 531,100 people across 10 councils.
The authority would have 18 representatives at regional level with a total of 34 representatives spread across three areas at local level.
Local Democracy Reporting has reached out to Mayor John Funnell for comment.
Funnell said the council was evaluating all options and the implications for the community.
Elected members will make the final decision at tomorrow's meeting, which starts at 10.15am.
