Waipā District Council consultation opens on representation review

Consultation on a new representation review proposal is open until Wednesday, September 29. Photo / Supplied

Feedback is now open on a proposal to reduce the number of Waipā District councillors and make changes to ward boundaries.

The initial proposal, given the green light at Waipā District Council's Finance & Corporate Committee on August 17, sees a reduction in the number of councillors from 13 to 11 and changes to ward boundaries, along with minor changes to community board boundaries and a retention of the current structure.

Deputy chief executive Ken Morris said the proposal aims to provide fair and effective representation for Waipā residents and ratepayers, to provide an effective community voice and strengthen local democracy.

"The proposal covers how many councillors we should have in each ward, which geographical areas those wards will cover and proposed names of our new wards," said Ken.

"We're also proposing keeping the existing community board structure similar to what it is now, but with a reduction from 11 to 10 members, across the two boards. The number of community board members in the Cambridge subdivision is proposed to reduce from five to four to make sure we comply with the rules in the legislation about how many people elected members can represent."

The proposal approved is for the following arrangements for the 2022 and 2025 elections:
- Cambridge ward (four councillors). One less elected member and a boundary change in the Fencourt and Hautapu areas.
- Te Awamutu and Kihikihi ward (three councillors). One less elected member and a small boundary change in the Pāterangi / Ngāroto Rd area.
- A combined Pirongia and Kakepuku ward (two councillors). One less elected member and boundary changes in the Paterangi / Ngaroto Rd and Kaipaki areas.
- Maungatautari ward (one councillor). Boundary changes to include Kaipaki and reflect the changes to the Cambridge ward boundary.
- At the same time council is also required to consider whether community boards are appropriate to provide for effective representation of communities of interest within the community and fair representation of electors.

Council is proposing the existing community board structure also has the same changes as councillor urban and rural ward boundaries, except Kakepuku area which would remain an electoral area in its own right, rather than being combined with Pirongia.

"We recognise this may appear confusing so we've created an interactive map for residents to enter their property address and see what the proposal would look like at an individual household level. I would encourage everyone to head to waipadc.govt.nz/haveyoursay to check it out," added Ken.

For the full statement of proposal, boundary changes and to see how the representation review affects you, head to www.waipadc.govt.nz/haveyoursay. Consultation will close at 5pm, Wednesday, September 29.