They voted down a broader programme that had been recommended by staff, expressing concern about the level of potential cost.
The broader programme would have included targeted engagement with youth, Pasifika and migrant communities, as well as direct councillor participation in some activities and additional communication with mana whenua and Māori.
Cr Marie Laufiso was one councillor who argued this should have gone ahead.
The council should be doing everything possible to lower barriers to participation in society, including engaging with marginalised groups, she said.
Other councillors were worried about engagement fatigue, as there would already be a round of consultation once the draft document had been approved for public release next year. Legislation does not require pre-engagement.
The council first voted against the broader programme, 9-4.
The four in favour had been Cr Laufiso and Crs Christine Garey, Mandy Mayhem and Bill Acklin.
Cr Lee Vandervis argued for no pre-engagement, but his motion lapsed for want of a seconder.
The option of purely online engagement was then approved unanimously.
Cr Acklin, the civic affairs committee chairman, argued this did not go far enough.
"It’s our job to engage with the community as much as we possibly can," he said.
It was helpful to know what people’s priorities for funding were and for the council to have indications about where they could be comfortable for costs to be cut, he said.
Cr Acklin said many elected representatives had campaigned on listening to the people.
"I’m amazed so many councillors are wanting to reduce communication with our community."
The broad engagement programme would have been covered within council budgets, he said.
Cr Vandervis said pre-engagement was "a second kind of consultation".
"We should do it once and do it right," he said.
"We need to pinch every damn penny that we can."
Cr Kevin Gilbert preferred the phrase "fiscal constraint" and he said discussions would still happen.
Cr Steve Walker was one councillor who drew attention to the need for the nine-year plan itself to be prudent.
Cr Brent Weatherall said the council should not shy away from engagement, but an online approach was sufficient at this stage.
Information about how much each of the options might have cost was not available at the meeting.
