Rangitīkei District Council calling for residents to join local community committees

Rangitīkei District Council is looking for people to join the Bulls and Marton Community Committees. Photo / File

Community committees in Bulls and Marton are struggling to function, with one not holding a meeting since September due to low numbers.

Now Rangitīkei District Council has put the call out for residents of Bulls and Marton to put their hands up.

Community committees have the delegated authority for the annual allocation of $1 per rateable property in their area, which can be spent on 'small local works' and also act as advocates of the community to council.

Rangitīkei mayor Andy Watson raised the issue of participation on the committees at the council's most recent meeting after a variety of factors led to the loss of a chairperson on both committees and months of postponements.

At the Bulls Community Committee's March meeting, chairman Tyrone Barker stood down from his position effective immediately, leaving the committee in the hands of deputy chairwoman Danelle Whakatihi.

However, the committee's April meeting, where a new chairperson was to be elected, wasn't held due to a lack of quorum.

The issue has also been seen in Marton, with a meeting not held since September last year.

The most recent scheduled meeting in April was not held due to a lack of a quorum, and a chairperson is still yet to be elected.

"With all community committees, they wax and wane in terms of their interest. Often, and I'm speaking in generality here, there are personality issues and all sorts of other things that come into the mix," Watson explained at last week's full council meeting.

"It is a pity because community committees are our way of feeding back, so it would be great to have something in place if we could for the representation review."

In a notice posted by the council this week, the council said it would be hosting public meetings later this month in Bulls and Marton for those interested in considering serving on a committee but unsure what the role entails.

The Bulls meeting will be held at 6pm on Tuesday, June 15, at Te Matapihi, while the Marton meeting will be held at 6pm the following Tuesday, June 22, at the Friendship Club Hall.

In February, a byelection for a vacant Southern Ward seat on the council saw just 403 votes, or 13 per cent of all registered voters casting a ballot.

• According to returning officer Warwick Lampp, that figure is believed to be the lowest turnout for a local byelection in New Zealand history, with each vote in the $19,000 election costing the equivalent of $47.