Local government reform update from Mayor John Funnell

A message for the Taupō District community from Mayor John Funnell:

I have an update on local government reform. Things have moved very quickly since our meeting last Tuesday.

We resolved to put a response to Government saying we aren’t ready to put in a Head Start proposal for amalgamation at this stage.

But other councils are coming for us anyway. A grouping of councils is proposing a Western Waikato Unitary Authority and under the Head Start rules, they could pull us in too.

We don’t want to be dragged into an arrangement that will be terrible for our community. And that’s what we firmly believe this will be. We understand that they’re wanting to leverage our financial strength.

My position is that Taupō District Council should not be part of a Western Waikato Unitary Authority because the financial modelling clearly shows that this is one of the worst options we could end up in. Debt could go from $900 per Taupō District rating unit to almost $9000 per rating unit.

We’re disappointed that other councils have chosen not to respect our position.

What’s obvious now – given there’s this hostile takeover being put forward – is that we’re not going to be left to manage our own destiny.

We’ll continue to advocate strongly for our district to the Government. We need you to do the same too.

Councillors are meeting on Thursday 6 August to approve a response to Government on the Head Start process. Work will be underway over the weekend to draft an agenda paper for them to consider.

If you feel strongly about this issue, please email us at info@taupo.govt.nz and we’ll present your views to the councillors on Thursday.