No real change is proposed under the mandatory review of elected Waitaki District Council representatives.
The formal consultation period for the proposed review began yesterday and runs until September 4. The council is required by law to formally review its representation arrangements every six years.
Under the Waitaki consultation proposal, out for public submissions, no change in representative numbers or wards is proposed for the 2025 and 2028 elections.
In a statement, the council said the number of residents per councillor averaged 2436, that ratio varying from ward to ward.
Oamaru ward has six councillors (2483 people each per councillor). Corriedale ward has two (2460 each), Waihemo one (2500) and Ahuriri one (about 2040).
The council said the Ahuriri ward quota was 16.26 % below the official requirement (plus or minus 10%) for an elected member. But the difference was decreasing due to population growth in the ward since the last review in 2018.
"Council proposes to seek an exemption for the Ahuriri ward to that legal requirement and to have it recognised as an isolated community of interest that requires an elected member and a community board to ensure effective representation," a spokesman said.
The consultation documents are available online at Let’s Talk Waitaki, the council offices in Oamaru and Palmerston and libraries.
