VOTE: Councillors at the December meeting.PHOTO/FILE
Councillors warned to watch what they say
Rotorua Lakes Council staff are wary of the risks posed by councillors speaking out before a decision is made on the council's controversial Te Arawa Partnership Proposal.
The agenda for Tuesday's extraordinary meeting of council to discuss the issue has been released and contains just one item for recommendation - to approve or otherwise the council's "statement of proposal" for the Te Arawa Partnership Model.
The meeting will be held in the Council Chamber from 2pm and is open to the public.
In his agenda report, the council's Strategy and Partnerships group manager Jean-Paul Gaston stated that "public decision-making must been seen to be procedurally fair ... and ... it is therefore important for decision-making that councillors are able to demonstrate that they have approached the matter with an open mind".
Mr Gaston went on to say that "the media has attributed a number of quite definitive comments to councillors which potentially raises questions from the public of possible predetermination within the elected body.
"This may create a number of specific risks."
Those risks are a judicial review of the council's decision-making process, reputation risks to the council and councillors, and a loss of public confidence and trust in the council and councillors.
In December, the council approved "in principle", and for consultation purposes only, the model proposed by Te Arawa, by a majority vote of 10-3.
The proposal could see the establishment of an iwi board outside of the council structure to replace the former Te Arawa Standing Committee.
Te Arawa would appoint or elect a board of up to 14 people with two representatives - with voting rights - to sit on the council's Operations and Monitoring Committee and on its Strategy, Policy and Finance Committee, with one on the Chief Executive Performance Committee and another representative on Resource Management Act hearings panels.
However, three councillors have already publicly stated they are opposed to the council's preferred option and are active members of the Rotorua Pro Democracy Society which was set up to oppose the proposal.
They are society chairwoman Glenys Searancke, along with Mike McVicker and Rob Kent.
Councillors Charles Sturt and Janet Wepa expressed reservations about the proposed model, but also stated they were prepared to wait for the public to have its say.
If the recommendation is approved the council would move into a public consultation phase with submissions opening on February 23 and ending on March 27.
The council is planning to hold seven public information sessions where people can hear about the proposal and submission process.
Workshops will also be held by council staff to help people with the preparation of their submissions.
Proposed timetable:
¦ Feb 17: Statement of Proposal (SOP) approved for public consultation
¦ Feb 23: Public notice and SOP available - submissions period commences
¦ Mar 2 - 11: Public information sessions
¦ Mar 27: Submissions close
¦ April 22-23: Hearings for submitters
¦ May 6: Submissions considered - Deliberations and decisions
Public information sessions:
¦ March 2 - 9am to 10.30am - Council Chamber
¦ March 3 - 5.30pm to 7pm - Reporoa High School
¦ March 4 - 5.30pm to 7pm - Horohoro School
¦ March 5 - 5.30pm to 7pm - Ngongotaha Hall
¦ March 9 - 5.30pm to 7pm - Rotoma Fire Station
¦ March 10 - 5.30pm to 7pm - Lynmore Primary School
¦ March 11 - 5.30pm to 7pm - Council Chamber
The Special Consultative Procedure includes:
¦ Preparation of a statement of intent to be approved by council and released for public consultation. This must state the council's preferred option.
¦ Identification of the other options considered.
¦ Allowance of a period of four weeks in which to receive feedback.
¦ Provision of opportunities for submitters to address the council in regards to their submission.
¦ The council making a decision following consideration of all submissions.
The four options:
1. The status quo - reinstate the Te Arawa Standing Committee
2. Modified model - the proposed model with some changes
3. No formal partnership - no TASC, no proposed model
4. The proposal model - as submitted by Te Arawa