Submissions have opened on the Queenstown Lakes District Council's controversial representation review, which proposes to remove the Arrowtown ward councillor, to be replaced with a community board.
The proposal was adopted by the full council earlier this month, with the provision "other options" were also available for consideration by the public.
The alternative options were to retain the same ward structure and elect all councillors within wards - Wakatipu electing six councillors, Wanaka four and Arrowtown one - but remove the Wanaka Community Board; retain the same ward structure, elect councillors within wards and retain the Wanaka Community Board; or remove all wards and elect councillors at large.
Under that alternative, there would be 10 councillors and a Wanaka Community Board, comprising four members elected within the boundary of the former Wanaka ward.
There would be no divisions for the ward and any councillors elected who resided within the former Wanaka ward might be appointed to its community board.
An Arrowtown Community Board would also be established, comprising four members elected within the boundary of the former Arrowtown ward.
Council regulatory and corporate general manager Roger Taylor said the submissions formally opened yesterday and he encouraged residents and ratepayers to have a say.
Mr Taylor said the three alternatives to the proposal had been listed "to assist with the debate".
"Our hope is that people will read the document, consider the proposal and tell us what they think," he said.
Every six years the council is required to do a review of the way the community elected its representatives.
The representation review document said the existing arrangement - six Wakatipu councillors, one Arrowtown councillor and three Wanaka ward councillors - did not comply with the requirements of the Local Electoral Act 2001, because the "average numbers of usually resident population per member" were outside the permitted range.
The proportionality between the two wards as proposed was even - there were the same number of electors per councillor in both wards - and the establishment of an Arrowtown Community Board would provide the Arrowtown community with a wider range of options for selecting representatives, both at a councillor and board member level.
The Arrowtown Community Board would retain the community interest of Arrowtown and the representation arrangements for Wanaka would remain unchanged.
Submissions close on May 18.
