Waipā to review Council make-up
26 April 2018
Waipa District Council is to review how many elected councillors it has and how they represent the district.
Legally, all councils must review the make-up of their Council every six years to make sure it is fair and effective.
According to current rules, Waipā should have fewer councillors representing Te Awamutu and more councillors representing Cambridge. That's based on the Local Electoral Act which states each councillor must represent the same number of people, plus or minus 10 per cent. In Waipa, elected members are expected to represent 3,870 - 4,730 people.
Mayor Jim Mylchreest said Cambridge's rapid growth has "tilted the numbers" around the Council table since the last representation review six years ago. Based on the existing ward structure, Cambridge would need at least one more councillor but Te Awamutu could have one less, he said.
"While the number of people living in Cambridge has grown the number of Councillors representing them has not," Mylchreest said.
"We are required to look at that and at the same time, have a good look at other options available to us to make sure our district has the kind of representation it wants."
Waipā currently has a mayor and 12 councillors across five electoral wards. Four councillors represent Cambridge and four represent Te Awamutu. Two rural wards - Kakepuku and Maungatautari - have one representative each. The third rural ward, Pirongia, is represented by two elected members.
As part of the review, the Council will consider a range of options including:
- increasing or decreasing the number of wards
- removing wards altogether so voters elect representatives district-wide
- increasing or decreasing the number of elected councillors in the district and in each ward
- keeping urban and rural wards or combining some of them.
The review will not reconsider establishing a Māori Ward. A decision not to establish a Māori Ward was made by the Council in October 2017, as required by the Local Electoral Act. By law, that decision cannot be revisited as part of this review.
Mylchreest said Council would consider all options but that regardless of what option was chosen, elected members would have only limited say on what they were paid. The independent Remuneration Authority sets councillors' salaries and that would continue, he said.
Council will present a formal proposal to the community in July this year so any change could be in place for the 2019 local body elections. The review would also consider the role of the Te Awamutu and Cambridge Community Boards.
Council is already seeking informal feedback on the representation review via a survey aimed at residents and ratepayers. Copies of the survey can be picked up from Council offices or can be completed on-line at waipadc.govt.nz/haveyoursay. The survey is open from Monday April 30 until May 21. Formal community feedback will be sought once Council has a preferred option.
For more information, contact: Jeanette Tyrrell 027 5077 599