FNDC and KDC have also topped their surveys with another option – each remaining standalone while taking on NRC functions.
The Far North District Council headquarters in Memorial Ave, Kaikohe. Photo / Yolisa Tswanya
The regional council is to disappear under the Government’s plans, with its functions combined as amalgamation plays out for Northland’s three current district councils.
The quick, mostly multi-choice surveys aim to gather data for a meeting of the Northland local government reform elected member steering group later this month, ahead of developing the region’s amalgamation proposal, which is due to be submitted to the Government by August 9.
The Government will design the region’s restructure if Northland doesn’t submit a proposal for consideration.
Regional steering group chair and Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper said taking the opportunity to create a local amalgamation proposal would ensure Northland communities shape their own future.
“This is about taking a ‘by Northland, for Northland’ approach,” Couper said.
Each district council’s survey asks respondents for their views on several amalgamation options.
A single council would merge WDC, FNDC, KDC and NRC – the top-listed option in WDC’s survey.
WDC next lists a Far North unitary council and a combined WDC/KDC unitary council.
Its third option is a Whangārei unitary council and a combined FNDC/KDC unitary council. Both would incorporate NRC functions.
In contrast, the Kaipara council survey lists four options, topped by KDC going solo with regional council functions as its first choice.
Dargaville’s combined Kaipara District Council/Northland Regional Council building. Photo / NZME
The survey then lists a combined KDC and WDC unitary council with NRC functions, followed by a combined KDC and FNDC council with NRC functions.
The solo FNDC unitary council with NRC functions tops the Far North council survey’s list of four options.
The survey then lists an FNDC and WDC unitary council with NRC functions, followed by an FNDC and KDC council with NRC functions.
The four-council merger appears last.
Depending on each council’s slightly different survey wording, respondents are asked for feedback on concerns about fewer councils, how community voice should be protected, which council services should be prioritised and the benefits of amalgamation.
Concerns include rates, loss of local voice and decision-making, reduced access to councillors and staff, smaller communities being overlooked, less responsive services, disruption during amalgamation, weakened environmental outcomes, poorer service delivery and doubts about cost savings.
The surveys ask how local voice should be protected – through local or community boards, sufficient local representation, issues-based engagement, options like catchment care groups, Māori/iwi representation and mechanisms such as citizens’ assemblies.
People are also asked to identify benefits they see from fewer councils in Northland – including simpler systems, lower costs, better value for money and rates, stronger regional planning, greater financial capacity, better representation of local communities, improved emergency response, stronger management of growth and infrastructure and enduring iwi and hapū relationships grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
KDC’s survey asks what should be prioritised to ensure successful change – including how Northland’s new local government structure will look, ensuring services aren’t disrupted during transition, clear communication with communities, aligning policies and processes across the region and retaining the staff’s local knowledge.
It also asks what must stay the same in Kaipara – including local voice and decision-making, local access to services, retaining council offices and local presence, protecting rural and remote communities, affordable rates and reliable core services.
The FNDC survey also asks whether people think council services such as dog control, rubbish and recycling, libraries, pools, community facilities, town centre improvements and stormwater and drainage should be centralised.
It also asks people to choose whether they are more motivated by the possibility of reduced costs through regionally co-ordinated services or by maintaining a strong local voice – even if that costs more.
More than 550 people responded to an initial FNDC survey that closed on May 3, which the council called a “huge” response.
“We heard that while people have mixed views about reform, there is strong agreement on what matters most – affordable rates, retaining a strong, local voice, reliable services and making sure smaller rural communities are not overlooked,” the new FNDC survey said.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.