"Given what appears to be a higher than normal level of local interest in council and the elections - going on media coverage and social media engagement on election-related matters - we still anticipate a better voter turnout this year than in 2013," he said.
"People appear to be more aware of and interested in council matters in Rotorua and we hope this will translate to more taking the opportunity to have a say about who represents them by voting.
"We also anticipate a greater turnout of Maori voters as a result of the higher profile of council prompted by the Te Arawa partnership, the higher number of Maori candidates standing for council and given Te Arawa has endorsed several of those candidates."
He said the main reasons people gave for not voting were that they forgot or were too busy, so there had been a concerted effort to keep the election front of mind.
"We have undertaken a variety of advertising to increase awareness and encourage people to enrol and vote and we have also used our own online and social media channels."
The last day to post your papers is this Wednesday. Otherwise you can drop them off at the Rotorua Lakes Council offices before midday next Saturday.