Western Bay of Plenty District councillor Kevin Marsh. Photo / Stuart Whitaker
The Western Bay mayor's surprise call to merge with Tauranga city has come under fire and only one of his councillors agrees with the idea.
Last week, mayor Garry Webber said Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Tauranga City Council should merge within the next 10 years.
Webber said joining could avoid duplicating services such as kerbside waste collection and stop crossover in areas such as water infrastructure. Omokoroa's wastewater is treated in Tauranga and the city's Waiari water project - aimed at helping supply Pāpāmoa - begins in Te Puke.
In a Local Democracy Reporting article, Webber likened the two councils to ''Siamese twins'' and said: "The sooner we understand we need to join together and overcome the stupidity of what we have, the better off we'll all be."
His comments come as a Future for Local Government Review examines local government and the structure of New Zealand's 67 local councils and 11 regional councils.
Nine Western Bay councillors disagreed with merging and one supported it.
In response, Webber, who steps aside after October's elections, said he stood by his comments.
Councillor and Te Puke/Maketū Ward Forum chairman Kevin Marsh said, in his opinion, the mayor's stance was "unacceptable", "extremely premature" and weakened "our perceived position as an effective governance body".
Marsh, elected for the past 21 years, told the Bay of Plenty Times he believed Webber's comments were made "with no discussion or consideration from the rest of his council".
There was a "symbiotic relationship" between the two districts "but we have learned, in many business arrangements, big is not always better - just look at Auckland."
Marsh said the Western Bay was a regional "economic jewel in the crown" and, in his view, protecting it and its people was "our moral obligation as elected representatives".
A key objective was ensuring population-based representation did not drown the district's rural economic voice, he said.
"In a bigger entity, I have my doubts that individual ratepayers would be listened to as effectively as we can, in the Western Bay,'' he said.
In his opinion: ''For the mayor to say that the present model is 'one of stupidity' is mindblowing."
Marsh said, in his view, Webber's analogy about the districts being ''Siamese twins'' was "ridiculous".
"Western Bay of Plenty District Council is alive and well, is financially viable, and has not had to have the indignity of having commissioners govern - although I respect each one of the Tauranga City commissioners as they go about repairing the deficiencies of past governance,'' he said, expressing his view.
''We, collectively and individually, at Western Bay of Plenty District Council are much better than that.''
In his opinion: "For mayor Webber to comment about the 'stupidity of what we have presently' is nonsense, and quite frankly ... out of order for a mayor to state."
Marsh acknowledged Western Bay faced future challenges but in his view, "don't let us be cut off at the knees by a retiring politician".
He believed the Western Bay "deserves better".
Deputy mayor John Scrimgeour said there could be merger benefits but there could also be challenges presented by the increased size and bureaucracy of larger organisations.
"The challenge ... is that the voice of our small communities will struggle to be heard over the noise from the big smoke."
Scrimgeour said councillors needed to be elected based on population and if future councillors were elected by wards, the Western Bay would have about a quarter of the representation on an amalgamated council.
If councillors were elected at large, the district could be overwhelmed by Tauranga voting numbers, he said.
"The risk is that our small towns and rural hinterland would be completely dominated by the city."
Councillor Monique Gray worried the district's smaller areas could be "devoured by our big city in no time, along with the growing debt and delay in crucial infrastructure".
"Amalgamating will not fix this. It will laden the ratepayers and future generations with more burden from past mistakes made with Tauranga City Council that Western Bay of Plenty District Council has already prepared for."
Councillor Margaret Murray-Benge said, in her view, Webber's comments were "totally inappropriate" and she also believed there was no councillor or community consultation.
"Experience shows that there are no savings to be made from amalgamation, and no benefit for the smaller community. Big dominates any change."
Murray-Benge was chairwoman of the Waimairi District Council from 1983 to 1989 when it merged into Christchurch City Council. That same year Mount Maunganui Borough Council merged with Tauranga City Council but Western Bay remained separate.
Councillor Grant Dally said he did not believe Western Bay would stay as it is but protecting ratepayer money from "disappearing into a black hole of city priorities and projects" was crucial.
Likewise, councillor Allan Sole said the Western Bay was doing well but he did not want to see its money used to fulfil what he believed was Tauranga's "delusions of grandeur" in the CBD.
The city council is consulting on options of a Civic Precinct rebuild, with a preferred option estimated to cost at least $300m.
"I don't oppose these dreams, but what about the needs, wants and dreams of the outlying rural towns, industry and farmers in the outlying Western Bay? They surely will become casualties," Sole said.
Councillors Murray Grainger and James Denyer also did not support merging, citing concerns about keeping local decision-making in a Tauranga-dominated entity.
Tauranga's debt and governance issues would also be "problematic".
Councillor and mayoral hopeful Don Thwaites believed Tauranga needed a new governance structure. He saw benefit in Bay of Plenty's six councils working together on drinking water and wastewater but felt all other activities should remain local.
But councillor Mark Dean believed amalgamation would make things more efficient.
"Logically, we are really one area with the same problems so why have two authorities?"
In response, Webber told the Bay of Plenty Times his stance on amalgamation had not changed despite councillors' concerns.
"We are in an election cycle and some people make all sorts of statements. My view is for [amalgamation] in five to 10 years' time. I'm not saying we do it tomorrow."
Councillor Anne Henry was approached for comment.
Tauranga city commission chairwoman Anne Tolley declined to comment.