Western Bay district councillors sworn in at inaugural meeting

The newly elected Western Bay of Plenty District Council is holding its first meeting in Te Puke.

First up on the agenda was a powhiri followed by the inaugurations of the mayor (Garry Webber) and councillors.

The council would then be told of their legislative obligations and appoint the deputy mayor (Mike Williams).

Committees and their chairs and deputy chairs would be established and councillors would be appointed to community boards for Maketu, Te Puke, Omokoroa, Katikati and Waihi Beach.

Mayor Garry Webber has already proposed appointments to committees and community boards.

He said he wanted to people to see a tangible change in the way council operated.

The new structure matched up with his commitment to be open, transparent, responsive to the community and inclusive of the people's voice, he said.

His choice of chairs was "based on each individual councillor's skill set they bring to council and their expertise in relation to their committee's role."

"We have a lot of work to do and I have confidence that with the experience of returning councillors and the fresh thinking of newly elected members we will be working really hard to meet the needs of our communities."

Garry's committee structure includes:
Deputy Mayor Mike Williams
Community Committee: Chair Peter Mackay, Deputy Chair Margaret Murray-Benge
Long Term Plan & Annual Plan Committee: Chair John Scrimgeour, Deputy Chair Peter Mackay
Operations/Monitoring Committee: Chair Don Thwaites, Deputy Chair John Palmer
Policy Committee: Chair Mike Williams, Deputy Chair David Marshall
Rural Committee: Chair Kevin Marsh, Deputy Chair Mark Dean.

Appointees to Community Boards are:
Waihi Beach Community Board: David Marshall and Mike Williams
Katikati Community Board: Peter Mackay and Mike Williams
Omokoroa Community Board: Margaret Murray-Benge and John Palmer
Te Puke Community Board: Grant Dally and John Scrimgeour
Maketu Community Board: Kevin Marsh and John Scrimgeour
SmartGrowth appointees: John Scrimgeour, Don Thwaites, Garry Webber and Mike Williams