Councils across the country have been meeting to finalise their amalgamation proposals or face the process being dictated to them by central government.
By Bill Hickman of RNZ
Sunday marks the deadline for district councils to submit their proposals to amalgamate with at least one other nearby authority.
On announcing the three-month Head Start process in May, Local Government Minister, Simon Watts and Resource Management Act Reform Minister, Chris Bishop had a stark message for councils.
"Today we are giving council's a clear choice. Lead your own reform or we will do it for you," Bishop said.
This week, Hamilton District Council voted 12 to three to not participate - meaning the district would end up in a backstop process controlled by central government to ensure reforms still went ahead.
Councils around the country given 10 weeks to come up with merger proposals. (Source: 1News)
Councillor Andrew Bydder told Morning Report council didn't want to put forward a proposal and have the Government think they were happy with it.
"Getting into the tent might leave us stuck in the tent which is not desirable when the tent is a brothel with a minister who wants to pimp us out," Bydder said.
Earlier in the month, Hamilton mayor Tim Macindoe told RNZ he was reluctant to cede control of the process but could not support rushing into an arrangement which did not suit his city.
However this week he told councillors he received a phone call from Watts which ruled out his council's involvement in back stop decisions if they did not take the first step of submitting a proposal ahead of the deadline.
"He was also quite clear during our discussion that back-stop councils will not be at the table for that process," Macindoe said.
Down south, Christchurch City Council unanimously agreed to submit on the Head Start process.
They chose to retain the city's current city boundaries while taking on Canterbury Regional Council's functions.
But earlier in the week, councillor Melanie Coker warned the changes could cost millions to implement.
"Functions between councils that join will need to reviewed, combined, resized and this doesn't come for free. Any savings may be decades away and are not guaranteed," Coker said.
But in a Wellington City Council meeting on Friday, mayor Andrew Little said council reform was a necessary step to help address existing problems with long term infrastructure plans, economic growth and the region's ability to cope with the challenges of climate change.
"Put aside Head Start. Put aside the dodgy process. can we still address those challenges under the status quo? My view is not," Little said.
On Friday. a statement on behalf of the Wellington and Wairarapa Mayoral Forum outlined how the region could approach the merger.
Two proposals would come from councils of the region.
One a region-wide proposal (supported by Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council, Porirua City Council and South Wairarapa District Council) and another proposal for Wairarapa (supported by Carterton District Council and Masterton District Council).
The statement said the proposals would convey the positions of individual councils and the forum was requesting the "door remains open" for alternative arrangements for Kapiti Coast District Council and Upper Hutt District Council.
Late last month, Taupo mayor John Funnell described a proposed Western Waikato Unitary Authority as a "hostile takeover" which would leverage his district's financial strength while ballooning ratepayer debt to nearly ten times current levels.
He said his council had decided not to engage in the Head Start process.
Funnell said he understood concerns that stepping away from the Head Start process could see a merger dictated by central government but said councils who wished to merge with Taupo should come through the front door.
"We're three months out from an election - I would say to Minister Watts 'be careful'.
"I've seen the communications from our residents of the district here and there's a fair bit at stake for everyone here.
"I think the residents are quite clear they want to have their concerns taken in consideration and they want to make sure that the investments that this council has made over many years can put them in a good position as protected - and there's many ways of doing that - but it needs time."
Watts said the Government had been clear from the outset that this was a "voluntary process", giving councils the chance to put forward locally led proposals.
"Many councils and mayors have embraced that opportunity, working constructively across their regions to consider how local government can be better organised to deliver stronger services, lower costs and better value for ratepayers.
"We're undertaking the most significant reform of local government in a generation because the current system has become increasingly complex, costly and fragmented, and too often isn't delivering the outcomes that ratepayers expect."
He said no final decisions have been made regarding any backstop as any design would be informed by "the lessons from the voluntary Head Start process."
"I will have more to say once submissions have been received and we have had the opportunity to carefully consider the proposals put forward."
The Government will decide in September which proposals will move on to a detailed design phase, before final decisions are made in 2027.
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