Submissions are now open and must be received by Council no later than 4:00pm Friday, 29 May 2009.
Please note : Information contained in the section below, relates to the informal consultation period undertaken through Community Boards and a series of public meetings across the District in January/February 2009.
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The Local Electoral Act 2001 requires local authorities to review their representation arrangements at least once every six years. Council carried out its last representation review in 2003 and will complete the current review this year in time for the 2010 elections.
The Council in 2008 publicly notified its decision to adopt the First Past the Post (FPP) system for the election of Mayor, Councillors and Community Board members at the 2010 elections.
This review is split into two stages. The first stage involved the decision on the electoral system to be used in 2010 which the public can demand a poll to alter that decision.
The second stage is the process to establish the number of councillors, wards, boundaries and community boards for the District.
The Council has resolved that First Past the Post be the electoral system for the 2010 elections.
A Project Team made up of councillors and community board members, has been established by the Council to oversee the review and report back to the Council in order that the Council can adopt an option (“interim proposal”) for public consultation in April 2009.
The Project Team developed nine options that were presented to the District’s Community Boards in November 2008 as part of the consultation process.
What happens next?
Council is in the process of undertaking a preliminary community consultation to obtain feedback on :
- The total number of councillors
- Whether those councillors should be elected on a ward basis, “at large” (which is across the whole district) or a combination of both
- If wards are to be the approved option, how many should there be, what the boundaries should be based on and the names of those wards
- The number of councillors per ward
- If Community Boards should be retained and if so, the boundaries of each Board, the number of Community Board members to be elected and appointed (if the appointment of Councillors to Boards is adopted), and the names of each Community Board
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Number of Councillors and wards, boundaries and names of wards, and community boards.
If wards are to be used to determine the number of Councillors to be elected, the Council is required to follow the statutory provisions of the Local Electoral Act to for “fair and effective” representation. This means that no ward is to exceed a population to councillor ratio of plus or minus 10% of the average population per councillor across the total District.
Previously the Coromandel-Colville Ward has been identified as an “isolated community” where compliance with the plus or minus 10 percent rule has not been required.
Councillors and Wards
The following are the nine options that have been developed for the review of wards and Councillors.
Option One:
Three wards based on status quo of boundaries
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Option Two:
Four Wards – separate Eastern Ward into two wards
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Option Three:
Split Eastern Ward into three wards
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Option Four:
Mix of "At Large" and Wards
Some councillors elected across the entire District and others by some form of Ward system
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Option Five:
Status Quo but move Whangapoua to Coromandel-Colville Ward
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Option Six:
Whangapoua to Coromandel-Colville and split Eastern Ward
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Option Seven:
North South Wards (Tairua-Pauanui in South Ward)
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Option Eight:
North South Wards (Tairua-Pauanui in North Ward)
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Option Nine:
East West Wards
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The following two options are based on the retention of the Community Board system with various options for Councillors being appointed to each board.
Option One:
Based on Status Quo of Wards and Community Boards
Option Two:
Status Quo except for combined Community Board for Tairua Pauanui Whangamata
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To help determine council representation and the make-up of any wards we are seeking your views.
The above mentioned options will be presented at various public meetings as part of a preliminary community consultation process:
- 29 January 2009:
Thames Council Chambers
5:00pm - 6:00pm
- 31 January 2009:
Coromandel Service Centre
10:30am - 11:30am
- 31 January 2009:
Mercury Bay Service Centre
2:00pm - 3:00pm
- 3 February 2009:
Tairua Library
5:00pm - 6:00pm
- 4 February 2009:
Whangamata Service Centre
5:00pm - 6:00pm
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The review is to be completed by the Council no later than September 2009, with any appeals or objections from the community to the Local Government Commission being completed early in 2010 in time for arrangements for the 2010 elections.
The Council is required to undertake a formal consultation process this year as part of the review.
The following timetable for the review sets out the key milestones including the formal consultation process:
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For more information contact Lynlee Baily, Governance Support Manager on 07 868 0200
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