After the four-week submissions period for draft the 2025-34 council budget, 650 submissions came in.
A few more submissions sent by post were being anticipated after the official March 4 deadline, the Waitaki District Council said last week.
Its previous submissions record was 487 under the 2012-22 long-term plan process.
And four years ago it received 416 submissions.
At the Waihemo Community Board meeting on Monday the council’s director of community engagement and experience, Lisa Baillie, said submissions had previously been as low as about 200.
The 650 submissions were "quite phenomenal".
Ms Baillie told the board the council administration had started off the year "with a hiss and a roar".
This was mainly due to the work get people engaged with the plan and to encourage submissions.
It had entailed "significant work" by the council communications department in an approach she characterised as "a bit different".
But it had been "really well received".
Ms Baillie also reported the council has been "changing some processes around governance and how the papers are put together".
"It should be a more straight forward process going forward," she said
The council is utilising a governance adviser seconded from the Central Otago District Council.
Ms Baillie did not say what was driving internal change of governance.
However, some staff have departed, and it follows a series of meetings in 2024 and last month where councillors were ratifying minutes held over for many months.
Meanwhile the council organisational restructure, dubbed "transformation", was now at stage 4, Ms Baillie said.
The altered customer service approach including the service desk at the Oamaru Library had gone "really well".
She said there had been some unexpected loopholes but it did represent a lot of work.
"Hopefully the community will notice a bit of difference in how we handle cases, and speed in responses," Ms Baillie said.
Board member Kerry Stevens of Hampden congratulated the plan engagement effort.
Turnout for LTP engagement in Hampden Hall was great although ironically its future was a question in the consultation document, Mr Stevens said .
"I couldn’t help but smile when I read, ‘do we need that community hall?’, when we were sitting in that community hall."
From this Monday the council will begin formal in-person and zoom public hearings to consider public submissions to the LTP.
