The Waitaki District Council will leave its Ahuriri ward seat empty until next year’s election.
Following the death of Cr Ross McRobie last month, councillors this week discussed whether or not to fill the extraordinary vacancy before the October 2022 local body elections.
Because the vacancy was created within 12 months of the elections, there was no requirement to hold a by-election and councillors voted to leave the vacancy unfilled.
If there was a contested by-election, the seat was not likely to be filled until about April or May next year, just months before the local body elections.
Mr Kircher had already made temporary arrangements for Crs Colin Wollstein and Bill Kingan to be "buddy" councillors for the Ahuriri ward, continuing Cr McRobie’s work and providing a link between the council and the Ahuriri Community Board for advice and support.
The reallocation of other responsibilities that were originally undertaken by the late Cr McRobie was also being worked on, and a decision paper would be presented at next week’s council meeting.
Cr McRobie was elected to the Ahuriri ward unopposed in 2019, after he moved permanently to Otematata, where he and his wife Petrea had long had a holiday home. Previously he served as a member of the Wanaka Community Board and a Queenstown Lakes district councillor.
He died on November 29, age 70, after being diagnosed with melanoma about two months prior.
