Council surveys in recent years, and comments on social media you too may have seen, are evidence of just how low public trust in FNDC has fallen. But finally, a game change seems possible.
The introduction of Māori constituencies and the fairer STV ranking process for votes will bring a more diverse group of councillors around the council decision-making table than ever before.
A visionary and empathic mayor can seize the opportunity brought by this diversity to ensure bad ratings get replaced with good. It starts with three practical steps.
Label Community Projects 'High Significance'
The first task for the mayor is to overhaul the "consultation-after-the-strategy-has-already-been-decided" approach.
Far North Holdings plans, for example, that currently divide coastal Bay of Islands communities, should never have been enabled by the council: Residents didn't know what was planned, let alone have the chance to contribute to effective solutions.
"He waka eke noa", we are all in this together, yet the members of the public have little opportunity to voice their needs.
A wise new mayor will realign FNDC as an organisation that listens and utilises the experience, skills, and expertise of those who live here.
This way, we locals feel a shared sense of ownership and will take pride in projects.
It starts with a change in how the council staff apply the FNDC "engagement policy" because once a plan is labelled "low significance", the community is advised only once a decision is made.
Even for projects deemed "medium significance", consultation is requested by FNDC only after the decision has already been drafted (and let's be honest, what is the likelihood of anything changing at that stage?)
An empathic new mayor will recognise just how many skilled and experienced people live in our district and that we want a say.
Our mayor and councillors govern the processes which FNDC staff use to make decisions, so it's time to ensure major projects and strategies that directly affect communities such as large-scale projects and long-term waste management and minimisation plans get a "high significance" rating.
This allows all interested parties to explain their needs and collaborate with council staff to consider alternatives and identify the best solutions.
Give Community Boards a Bigger Slice of the Action.
Secondly, giving community boards greater ability to fund small-scale local projects allows decisions to be taken closer to those directly affected.
And why not focus on public accessibility and whanaungatanga to improve attendance and community "buy-in" at meetings, making this same focus a requirement for local community trusts funded by the council too.
Both the too-close-to-call mayoral candidates are experienced council members, used to working with community boards and trusts.
Surely both will understand the wisdom in encouraging all such meetings to fit around the needs of the wider public rather than ease for the elected board members.
What about rotating meeting venues and times, food sharing, childcare and video conferencing for a start?
Empathy as the Cornerstone of FNDC Communication
Finally, I urge whoever takes up the mayoral role to follow Microsoft's example.
At a time when the Microsoft company was known for a toxic culture of hostility, infighting, and backstabbing, the newly appointed chief executive Satya Nadella bought all the members of his senior leadership team a copy of the book "Nonviolent Communication" by psychologist Marshall Rosenberg.
The book outlines practical steps to replace judgment, criticism and self-justification with an understanding of the needs that lie behind the actions of others.
Learning this process enables you to be real and honest in a way that you are more likely to be heard, and to listen with empathy to others' differing views.
This would seriously benefit not only relationships within the council, but between FNDC and the wider community too, because a natural outcome of introducing "Nonviolent Communication" practices into a workplace is more trust, which of course means more effective teamwork and collaboration.
Surely it's a no-brainer for our new mayor to follow Nadella's leadership flex and introduce the 'Nonviolent Communication' approach to senior leadership and councillors?
In summary
Dear new mayor,
Your council is responsible under the Local Government Act to "promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of communities in the present and the future".
If you step up, we will too. So, will you register issues that have a major impact on the well-being of a community as "high significance"?
Will you empower community boards to support increased local decision-making? And will you build an empathic culture within the council?
After all, when we have a genuine stake in the decision-making process, we will support you.
Kind regards,
SEA CHANGE.
Author Jane Banfield is a long-term resident of Paihia, a grandmother and a volunteer in the SEA CHANGE movement (www.seachange.kiwi), set up to see transformation within Far North local government to address local climate, environmental and community issues.
