Editorial: 5-day rule not such a bad idea, after all

Tauranga mayor Stuart Crosby.

When I first heard members of the public will now have to give five days' notice before speaking at a Tauranga City Council meeting, I thought it was an attempt at fobbing them off.

But new councillor Clayton Mitchell's explanation of why he voted to bring in the rule convinced me otherwise.

He's right, the previous council was accused of being inefficient and bogged down by process.

Mr Mitchell wants to be able to come to meetings prepared to respond to the concerns of residents, knowing the background and having developed his own stance on the issue being raised.

We did vote for change, so we shouldn't resist it when it comes - whatever form it may take.

As a community, we need to put a bit of faith in the people we chose to lead it.

If you don't know what issue you want to raise at a meeting five days out, there's a good chance it isn't a burning one for you.

If it is something that's cropped up within the five-day period, the decision to allow you to be heard can still be made at the chairman's discretion.

There is also the possibility that what is a burning issue for one resident may not need to be heard by the team of people being paid to make multi-million-dollar decisions for the city.

As Mayor Stuart Crosby told the Bay of Plenty Times, the new council wants to be focusing on the big issues and, as a ratepayer, these are what I want them spending their time on, too.

If councillors are aware of an issue, they may be able to resolve it before the meeting or with the assistance of council staff.

The same applies to councillors themselves who have been known to waste time raising issues which could be quickly solved outside the council chambers.

It will be interesting to watch whether this change has the desired "sharpening" effect on council.