A new take on the proposition "what price democracy?" could be "what price representation?" That is the question confronting several territorial local authorities and which has come to a head in the Queenstown Lakes District, Central Otago District and the Clutha District councils.
In unrelated but contrasting proposals, the Clutha District Council is considering disbanding the Lawrence-Tuapeka and West Otago community boards, Central Otago replacing its Vincent and Cromwell community boards with council subcommittees while an option being considered by the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is to replace its Arrowtown ward councillor with a community board. These steps are required by the legislated six-yearly representation review, but some of the solutions being considered have created tension among communities.
Clutha Mayor Brian Cadogan recently used his casting vote to retain the status quo and to break a deadlocked vote by councillors to disband two community boards.
The issue is now open for public submissions. A review panel for the Central Otago District Council (CODC) has suggested community boards provoke "parochial behaviour" at the expense of district wide consideration of issues while proposed changes involving Arrowtown are being driven by pure mathematics: the town's 2151 permanent population (as at the 2006 census) is seen as too small legally to justify its own councillor.
Under one proposal before the QLDC, the Wanaka Community Board would remain but six of the council's nine councillors would come from a Wakatipu-combined ward and three from a Wanaka ward. Other options being considered would retain an Arrowtown councillor. But, for many living in those communities, the issue of representation is about having local people with local knowledge advocating for their community.
While people may identify themselves as coming from a province, the reality is that community roots run much deeper. Arrowtown may be just 20km from Queenstown, but its history and perspective is one of independence from larger centres Queenstown and Wanaka - witness successful lobbying of the QLDC to establish a town boundary against expansion; and the establishment of its own promotions and business organisations.
Today, Arrowtown is represented on the council by Lex Perkins who fears the village's influence would be eroded should his role be replaced by a community board. Arrowtown locals raise a point applicable to many other communities. How far does the ward's sphere of interest extend?
They contend it certainly includes neighbouring Millbrook, apparently outside the ward, while Lake Hayes and Gibbston would logically fit into an Arrowtown ward based on proximity and compatible lifestyles and the higher population would justify the retention of a councillor.
There is also the topical issue of the cost of running community boards, significant when there is increasing public scrutiny of rates rises and council spending. How much representation do people want and how much are they prepared to pay for?
Wanaka's four community board members are each paid $10,000 a year and a councillor $23,000.
Community boards are more costly to run while, unconvinced locals would say, having less influence over council decisions involving their communities.
The Clutha council is split into eight wards which would be retained under proposed changes, but Cr John Cochrane, who supported the dismantling of the district's two community boards, was hardly charitable when he described them as "little more than a cup of tea and a meeting for some locals". The CODC has 27 elected members - 10 councillors elected by wards and 17 community board members. A proposal will see Maniototo and Roxburgh boards, each with five members including one councillor, remain.
The cost of running both community boards and councillors elected along ward boundaries is something financially prudent councils should look at closely.
Councils have no obligations to react to community board requests and there is a real danger that they become ill-afforded and toothless layers of bureaucracy in these financially constrained times.
