The council has 12 elected members of which three are Maori.
Long-standing councillor and cultural ambassador Trevor Maxwell said he didn't want to delve into the proposal while it's still under discussion but the city has a proven record of Maori being elected in their own right.
"I was encouraged to first stand in 1977 by the late Sir Peter Tapsell and I didn't think I had a hope. But at that time I had my own radio programme which back then was popular with a lot of Maori and non-Maori as well, which gave me a bit of a profile," Mr Maxwell said. "I think Sir Peter encouraged me because he not only wanted to bring a Maori perspective to the council but a youthful perspective as well.
"I gave it a go and in my first month or two, I thought, 'What have I got myself into?' At that time there we were dealing with the fluoride issue on council and the Springbok tour around that time, and I was trying to get to grips with everything.
"It was a huge learning curve and I'm still learning today."
Mr Maxwell was a founding member of the Te Arawa Standing Committee, which was formed in 1993, an initiative driven by the iwi.
"I've been on it since its inception and most of the recommendations that have been made have gone through to the full council. The formation of the committee was a leader in the country.
"At that time we did not have a Memorandum Of Understanding with the various hapu and iwi here and now I think we have at least eight, with others looking at relationships with the council."
Separate Maori seats aren't for Rotorua, Mr Maxwell said.
"I believe you need to stand up and be counted and it's been proven with three of us in council now. If there had been a Maori ward we'd probably be entitled to two seats and that's a backward step. In the last election, 31 people stood for council, nine of those were Maori and three got in. The first two places were taken by Maori, Merepeka [Raukawa-Tait] and myself and Tania Tapsell placed fourth.
"I believe I got back in not just because Maori voted for me. If people want to get elected they need to appeal right across the board, not just to one sector.
"When I first started there weren't any women on the council and now there's a 50-50 split, that would be my ideal Rotorua District Council and we have a way to go to achieve that. But if a lot more people voted, a lot more of our people would get on and a lot of Maori don't take that opportunity."
Fellow councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said having a strong opinion on what was needed for the city was what got her elected and not her race. She was first elected in 2011 after two previous attempts were unsuccessful.
"I think people who know me, know I will have an opinion. I do give my view as I see it. I will listen and at the end of the day will make a decision as a decision is required but I will not be a fence-sitter," she said.
She also thought a cross-section of the community was needed to be represented but that councillors were there to represent everybody.
"There needs to be different faces around the table - it's good to have councillors with fresh perspective, life and work experiences. To have a good mix of skills, knowledge and background and not just all from a business background.
"Being [elected] is doable for anybody who wants it. You do have to work on your profile, if anybody is thinking of running in the next election they need to think of the issues, canvassing around community, signs and having your finger on the pulse of the community and be able to have a broad appeal. Let people know what you stand for," Ms Raukawa-Tait said.
"It's not cheap, I've done it three times and every time it has cost me about $2000."
Ms Raukawa-Tait said the option of having Maori wards "still needed to be looked at" but there were other avenues for people to have their say.
"Where people can add the best value might not be around the table. The good thing about our council is if you have some good ideas, let's hear them. People have good ideas on how to be inclusive, they're not sitting down and waiting to be asked, you can have input now," she said.
The youngest district councillor to be elected, Tania Tapsell, declined to comment further other than she believed she was chosen because "the people of Rotorua believe in my ability to advocate for them".
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council is finding success in having Maori seats and was the first council in the country to do so. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Maori Constituency Empowering) Act was passed in Parliament in 2001 after an extensive process of public consultation and the Local Electoral Amendment Act 2002 extended the same possibility to other councils.
The act sets out specific requirements for councils to involve Maori in local authority decision-making processes and requires councils to consult with those who may be affected by or have an interest in their decisions.
The three seats within the council are Mauao Maori (Western Bay of Plenty), Okurei Maori (Rotorua) and Kohi Maori (Eastern Bay of Plenty) as well as a Maori Committee.
"Maori are the tangata whenua of our region and it's very important for us that they have a voice and that we take their perspective into our decision-making," Bay of Plenty Regional Council general manager strategy, Fiona McTavish said.
"We are currently reviewing the Maori Committee, as we do periodically, to ensure it is still meeting the needs of our Maori constituency. The committee is a valuable forum that enables Maori to have a voice and input into council decision-making. We rely on the committee to help guide our Maori engagement and ensure we are doing this effectively and appropriately."
