Local Government Commission chairman Basil Morrison.
The date for Hawke's Bay's amalgamation referendum will be set next week.
The Local Government Commission said on Friday that the signatures on a petition requesting the referendum, which it received on Thursday, had been validated.
That meant the commission would proceed with setting a date "in the next few days" for a region-wide poll to determine whether or not Hawke's Bay's five local authorities should be merged into a single super-council.
The new unitary authority would service a population of about 150,000 spread across an area extending from north of Wairoa to south of Waipukurau.
About three months is needed for the "statutory steps" and other preparations required before the poll, meaning the final day voters will be able to return the ballot papers they will receive in the post will be some time in September.
The petition triggering the referendum may go down in history as the smallest ever to effect a major democratic change - the commission confirmed yesterday that it contained just three valid signatures.
Even that was still one more than was required.
Alistair Mason, of pro-amalgamation lobby group A Better Hawke's Bay, travelled to the Rangitikei District on Thursday to collect signatures from some of the 14 registered voters in the smallest of seven "affected areas" under the commission's reorganisation proposal.
Under the provisions of the Local Government Act, an amalgamation proposal must be put to a citizens' vote if at least 10 per cent of electors in any one of the affected areas sign a petition demanding a poll.
In the case of the small section of Rangitikei that falls within the proposal area, that meant a minimum of two people.
The petition was scrutinised by Rangitikei electoral officer Warwick Lampp and it appeared some of the "less than 10" signatures Mr Mason collected on Wednesday had turned out to be not valid - possibly because signatories' details, as they appeared on the electoral role, had changed.
"Luckily I had a bit of leeway," Mr Mason said yesterday.
The commission said it had appointed Mr Lampp as electoral officer to conduct the referendum.
The three-month lead-up time to the poll date was necessary to allow for a range of activities to be carried out including preparation of the electoral roll, delivery of voting documents to electors, and a three-week postal voting period.
Key features of the Local Government Commission's amalgamation proposal for Hawke's Bay:
One council
The single council will be named Hawke's Bay Council, replacing Napier City, Wairoa District, Hastings District, Central Hawke's Bay District, and Hawke's Bay Regional Councils. The council would be a unitary authority, responsible for both regional council and territorial authority functions.
The council's decision-making responsibilities will be shared between a governing body and five local boards.
Council governing body
Broadly, the governing body will be responsible for big-picture, region-wide strategic decisions, including decisions on policies, networks, infrastructure and rates.
The council governing body will consist of a mayor elected by voters across the region and 18 councillors elected by voters in five wards, with the same boundaries as the local board areas.
Local boards
The region will be divided into five local board areas - Wairoa, Ngaruroro, Napier, Hastings and Central Hawke's Bay.
The five local boards will provide a strong community voice in local affairs. Broadly, the local boards will be responsible and democratically accountable for identifying and responding to local interests and preferences in agreement with the governing body.
In practice, local boards will be responsible for governing local amenities such as parks, libraries, swimming pools and town centres.
They will make decisions on local business initiatives, events and activities within budgets agreed with the governing body. They may also have delegated responsibility for local regulatory matters such as parking and road signage.
See the section Shared decision making in practice on page 15 for more information on how responsibilities are expected to be shared between the governing body and the local boards.
Each local board will consist of six to nine members elected by voters in subdivisions of the local board area, to ensure all communities are well represented. Each local board will also have two councillors as members, appointed by the governing body.
Local access
In addition to headquarters in Napier, there will be permanent council area offices in Wairoa, Napier, Hastings and Waipawa, and a service centre in Waipukurau for at least five years.
Representation
The people in each area will be represented by a local board, and their local councillors. Overall there will be 18 councillors and 37 local board members, representing different areas as set out in the following table.
Hawke's Bay Regional Planning Committee
The existing regional planning committee is expected to be given legal status as part of the region's Treaty of Waitangi settlement process. The Hawke's Bay Regional Planning Committee will be a statutory body sharing regional resource management governance and decision-making responsibilities with the council.
The committee will reflect the joint council-hapu/iwi membership of the existing committee. It will be made up of 10 representatives of local hapu/iwi and 10 councillors. It will have two co-chairs, one nominated by the council and one by tangata whenua.
Maori Board
A new Maori Board will advise the council on Maori and Treaty of Waitangi related issues. It will provide advice to the Hawke's Bay Council and input into the council's plans, policies and practices.
The Maori Board will be made up of the mayor, three councillors and Maori representatives appointed after consultation with hapu/iwi in the region.
Natural Resources Board
A Natural Resources Board will advise the council and the regional planning committee on environmental management, land use and primary production, and how they link to the region's economy. It will provide advice and input into the council's plans, policies and practices.
The Natural Resources Board will be made up of three councillors and representatives of rural, primary production and environmental organisations and interests, appointed after consultation with interested parties across Hawke's Bay.
Taupo and Rangitikei Districts
In order to provide a consistent approach and keep these existing districts intact, the areas of Taupo and Rangitikei Districts now in Hawke's Bay Region will not be included in the proposed new Hawke's Bay District. However, responsibility for river catchment management functions will be transferred to the new council.
One person was taken into custody at the scene.