Local government reform's toughest phase still ahead, council boss says

A North Canterbury council boss says ''difficult conversations'' will be needed to develop new unitary councils.

Waimakariri District Council chief executive Jeff Millward said working out the detailed design of new council structures, as part of local government reforms, will be more challenging than preparing the Head Start proposals.

''Once we get to the nitty gritty, it's when the rubber will hit the road and we will have some difficult conversations.''

Last week, some Marlborough district councillors questioned a proposal to create a new Kaikōura ward with three councillors, just days after submitting a draft amalgamation agreement to Parliament.

Under the proposal, which would merge the Marlborough and Kaikōura councils, a new Kaikōura ward would have three councillors, which represented a 17.6 percent vote share in a 17-seat council, despite only making up 8% of the population.

The North Canterbury merger proposal, approved by the Waimakariri and Hurunui councils, allowed for five councillors to represent Hurunui voters, on a 14-seat council.

It would represent around 35% of the voting power, despite Hurunui only making up around 17% of the population.

But Mr Millward said the Hurunui district covered a large geographical area with diverse communities, so representation should not be based on population alone.

Creating a new entity would be challenging as the new council would incorporate multiple functions, including roading, rubbish collection, water services and river catchments.

Waimakariri delivered more than 40 different functions, while Hurunui delivered 34 and regional functions would be added.

''No two councils are alike as each has a different emphasis, so it's going to cause some challenges,'' Mr Millward said.

Hurunui District Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie said he did not expect to see significant savings for ratepayers.

''Bigger entities aren't necessarily more efficient. Smaller entities can often find efficiencies that larger entities can't.

''But by designing something new, we have the opportunity to look for potential savings.

Mr Dobbie said councillors will have more responsibilities, but will be better remunerated which may attract ''new people''.

But Hurunui Mayor Marie Black said there were advantages to the present system, where elected members put serving their community over financial returns.

Hurunui's representation at the council table would be reduced from 10 to five, but Mrs Black said this would be alleviated by forming elected community boards.

But communities may have to rethink their expectations of the mayor, Mrs Black said.

''Events like citizenship ceremonies, A&P shows and other events where the mayor is expected to attend, may have to be rethought as the mayor will be covering a much bigger area.

''It's a small thing, but it's hugely important for the community.''

In all, 18 Head Start proposals from around the country were submitted by the August 9 deadline.

Cabinet plans to consider the proposals next month, before announcing which ones will proceed to the detail design stage.

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