Local body musical chairs
Taupō is central to the merger options of most neighbouring councils. Photo: Dan Hutchinson
Taupō mayor John Funnell is concerned debt-laden Waikato councils are eyeing up the district as a potential “cash cow”.
By Dan Hutchinson and RNZ
The Taupō District Council meets today to finalise its response to the Government’s Head Start process having been caught up in a late Western Waikato proposal.
The Government is planning to reduce the number of district councils and has asked councils to come up with proposals to amalgamate with neighbouring districts.
Councils that do not come up with an arrangement by August 9 will be managed through a “backstop” process where the Government decides who it will merge with in 2028.
Neighbouring councils to the north, south and west have indicated a desire to join with Taupō, but Taupō has decided the timeframe is too short to make a decision.
That has left other councils’ merger proposals up in the air, resulting in a late proposal by a group of western Waikato councils.
Taupō mayor John Funnell says the district’s relatively low debt of $900 per household should be considered.
“If we were to amalgamate with the West Waikato model, which includes South Waikato, Waipā and Waikato District Council, and they propose to include Hamilton City, that jumps from $900 to $9,000."
He says the debt levels of Hamilton City and Waipa are a particular concern.
The relatively late proposal by the three western Waikato councils, which are seeking to merge with Taupō, has left Taupō scrambling.
"We're actually asking for more time to analyse all the information we've got. The fresh information that's come in is what the issue is. We just need more time to analyse it all and just look at the options as they are, because they do keep changing as different councils decide to team up."
Funnell says a merger with western Waikato could result in a dramatic cost increase for Taupō ratepayers.
"We just need more time to negotiate the stuff through, because things to look at now are the debt and how do you handle that. And then the other big one is representation."
"At the end of the day, our responsibility is to the people of the district. I need to be confident that the changes to local government leave our community better off. And with the West Waikato model, that will not be the case."
He describes the late western Waikato proposal as a “hostile takeover”.
“We’re disappointed that other councils have chosen not to respect our position.”
South Waikato mayor Gary Petley says the proposal is still viable, although Hamilton City is yet to make a decision.
"For the three of us (Waipā, Waikato and South Waikato), we're just putting a proposal forward because from my perspective we need to and I don't think doing nothing is an option.
"If people are talking about a local voice then why wouldn't you at least put something forward?"
South Waikato’s first option was joining forces with Rotorua and Taupō district councils, but edged away due to a “difference in opinion” according to Petley, leading to council confirming a Western Waikato preference.
"If you take the [Back Stop] option, in my view, you've basically surrendered your local voice. We would rather be at the table conversing without being actually part of the menu.”
Waipā’s first preference was a Waikato-wide unitary, but strayed away after seeing it's "clearly not going to happen" according to Pettit, making a river catchment an obvious choice.
"We didn't want to be something that was just a really metro large-town setup either because it's actually about looking after all of Waikato, not just cherry picking.“
Taupō District Council had previously expressed a desire to pursue a central North Island arrangement including councils in Ruapehu, Ōtorohanga, Waitomo and South Waikato, but some of those councils were not ready.
As a result it had decided not to pursue an amalgamation because there was not enough time to make a decision and they did not want to force other councils into an arrangement they were not comfortable with.
Council officers are recommending to today’s council meeting that they oppose involvement in the Western Waikato unitary proposal and clarify with Government that it would like time to explore amalgamation options with the central North Island councils, being the Ruapehu, Waitomo and Ōtorohanga districts.
“It is critical that this recognises Waitomo and Ōtorohanga are currently pursuing their own proposal and that Taupō has no intention to undermine that proposal,” the report reads.
“Clarifying with Government that if Taupō District Council is unable to develop a suitable proposal with those councils, then the next preference would be to explore an amalgamation option with Rotorua Lakes Council.”
Rotorua Lakes Council has previously expressed a desire to merge with Taupō and South Waikato but after Taupō rejected that idea it is now pursuing a Bay of Plenty amalgamation instead.