Have your say on local government reform

Taupō District Mayor John Funnell says community input will be vital as councillors work to assess whether Taupō District Council should merge with another council, or councils.

Council has set up a community survey and wants to hear from as many people in the district as possible.

“This is a huge reform – the biggest in the sector for 37 years – and the rushed timeframe is going to make it incredibly difficult,” Mr Funnell says. “Nonetheless, my fellow councillors and I will be putting the best interests of the Taupō District and its people at the forefront of our thinking as we work through this.

“First and foremost, we want to hear from our communities on what is important to them. That will help as we decide which options we want to pursue and which other councils we want to enter into discussions with.

“I encourage everybody in the district to fill it out and let us know their priorities.”

Central Government announced last month that councils had three months to work with other nearby councils to come up with a proposal to merge into larger councils, known as unitary authorities.

Taupō District Council has begun engaging with iwi and hapū groups; and community engagement events around the district also began this week and will continue over the weekend. Mr Funnell said community views would help councillors decide what they needed to prioritise as they worked to pull together a list of options.

"You can find out more information about the reform at www.taupo.govt.nz/ourfuture. Please make sure you have your say.”