End in sight for Community boards

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 407, 8 October 1991, Page 1

End in sight for Community boards

Ruapehu District community boards should be scrapped and community committees set up in their place. That is the decision of the Ruapehu District Council, who considered a number of options at their special meeting last Tuesday. "It is people that make systems work rather than the systems themselves," said Mayor Carrick Workman at the start of the debate on the issue. "If the council is proactive and sets the community committees up in much the same way as community boards, they would probably have the same role." Public input A community committee would be a nonstatutory committee (ie., set up without election and without legal authority). It could be set up from nominations from a public meeting, and once in place, could be open to anyone interested in council matters. The committees would work directly with council.

Mr Workman said committees could be set up for any town or locality in the district but that he would envisage one for each of Waiouru, Waimarino, National Park, Owhango, Taumarunui, Ohura. The decision by the council is not necessarily the end of the matter. If individual community boards do not agree to disband the matter is then arbitrated by the Local Government Commission. Options In his report to the council the general manager, Cliff Houston put forward the following options: • Retain the present system of community boards. • Set up two community boards covering a southern ward consisting of Waimarino and Waiouru, and a northem ward consisting of Ohura, Taumarunui, National Park wards. • Set up a northern ward committee (which would consist of district councillors representing that ward, and a southern ward committee (also consisting of the represen-

tative ward councillors). This option would include the setting up of the non-statutory community committees. • Go straight to the establishment of community committees, and eliminate ward committees and community boards altogether. Committees cheapest The costs of each option were given as: $173,000 for the status quo; $107,250 for north/south community boards; $77,500 for north/south ward committees. No comparative costs were given for the option of community committees, but the general manager estimated them to be about half that of the ward committee option. Initially the council was split on the issue, with a vote for "1.8" (referring to the paragraph that outlined the option of the elimination of ward committees and community boards and the setting up of community committees) split seven for and seven against. Turnpage 2

End of community boards

From page 1 Divided council Mayor Workman could have used his casting vote to pass the motion but he said it was such an important issue he did not want to push it through with a divided council. "The idea of 1.8 as it is does away with the north/south split," said Cr Graeme Cosford. He said" he was in favour of the option, whether it happened straight away or was implemented over time. Deputy mayor Weston Kirton said it would put 'local' back into local government, by getting more people involved at minimal cost. Cr Ellen Gould said the community boards

were not getting the involvement of the community. She said the boards were at present a continuation of what should be the role of councillors. Cr Doug Bennett spoke for community boards, saying they were still finding their feet but were proving their worth. Too far, too fast Cr Don Lawson said it would be going too far too quickly and that the option did not clearly define goals and timetables. He said there was no reason why community committees could not be set up under the present system, if the council was concerned at a lack of public input. Cr Bob Vine said Waiouru now had something they had never had before and that

they did not want to give it up. Cr Bill Penny said the council should take the issue "slowly-slowly". The debate saw councillors and officers studying standing orders for meetings after the 1.8 option was split and a motion to go for the north/south ward committee option was lost. A number of councillors wanted to look again at the 1.8 option but there was uncertainty over whether this could be done, according to meeting procedures. After much discussion the mayor decided to allow it. When put to a second vote the motion to eliminate community boards and ward committees was carried, with Crs Lawson, Vine and Murphy recording their votes against it.