Dsicover Arrowtown - the Arrowtown Promotion and Business Association - has questioned if a community board would add value to Arrowtown "or just add another layer of bureaucracy".
The comments followed a controversial proposal to remove the Arrowtown ward councillor on the Queenstown Lakes District Council and replace that person with an Arrowtown community board.
Every six years, the council is required to undertake a review of the way the community elects its representatives.
The representation review document, released for public comment last month, said the existing arrangement - six Wakatipu councillors, three Wanaka ward councillors and one Arrowtown councillor - did not comply with the requirements of the Local Electoral Act 2001.
This was because the "average numbers of usually resident population per member" were outside the permitted range, the document said.
Corporate and regulatory services general manager Roger Taylor said the proportionality between the two wards as proposed was even - there were the same number of electors per councillor in both wards - and the establishment of an Arrowtown community board would provide the Arrowtown community with a wider range of options for selecting representatives, both at a councillor and board member level.
However, Discover Arrowtown chairman Adin May said the village already had two community groups, the Arrowtown Village Association and the Arrowtown Promotion and Business Association.
Both groups liaised with the council on any issues in the town.
Losing the Arrowtown councillor would put the onus on other councillors to serve the village.
Arrowtown had "unique needs", Mr May said.
"Councillors who do not reside in Arrowtown may not have an understanding and knowledge of the special needs of this heritage town to protect and preserve its character and qualities which add integrity to the Queenstown Lakes district as a tourism destination and beautiful place to live.
"The current Arrowtown ward boundary does not represent the region's perceptions of Arrowtown's domain."
Millbrook and Gibbston valley attractions added tens of thousands of visitors a year to Arrowtown.
Arrowtown hosted national and international visitors.
"Arrowtown as a town is unique in its geographical position in the valley but also in its present-day links with the past.
"Any loss in voice on the council table will have net loss in heritage.
"The question is whether a community board would add value to Arrowtown, or just add another layer of bureaucracy.
"Additional expenses to ratepayers in the establishment of a community board are predicted.
"If the Arrowtown ward is removed, there are also issues with regards to rates capture, in particular the promotional rates levied against Arrowtown commercial businesses," Mr May said.
"We would like clarification from council as to whether this would still be made available for the promotion and betterment of Arrowtown, or absorbed into Queenstown."
Included in the representation review were "other options" available for consideration by the public.
The alternatives were to retain the same ward structure and elect all councillors within wards - Wakatipu electing six councillors, Wanaka four and Arrowtown one - but remove the Wanaka Community Board; retain the same ward structure, elect councillors within wards and retain the Wanaka Community Board; or remove all wards and elect councillors at large.
Under that alternative, there would be 10 councillors and a Wanaka community board, comprising four members elected within the boundary of the former Wanaka ward.
There would be no divisions for the ward and any councillors elected who lived within the former Wanaka ward might be appointed to its community board.
An Arrowtown community board would comprise four members elected within the boundary of the former Arrowtown ward.
The representation arrangements for Wanaka would remain unchanged.
Council communications officer Jo Blick said so far there had been a "reasonable response" in terms of submissions on the review.
However, the majority of submissions were expected to arrive closer to the closing date of May 18.
Mr Taylor said the need for hearings on the submissions would be assessed once submissions closed.
If there was enough demand, hearings would be held in Queenstown, Wanaka and Arrowtown early next month, he said.
