A by-election will be held to fill the vacant seat on Tauranga City Council. Photo / File
A by-election will be held to fill the vacant seat on Tauranga City Council. Photo / File
The official process to elect a new Tauranga City councillor will begin this week, with an estimated price tag of nearly $200,000.
Under the Local Electoral Act, the Tauranga City Council must hold a citywide by-election to fill the at-large seat left by vacant by councillor Gail McIntosh's death on January 4.
Gail McIntosh.
Candidate nominations will open on Monday and last a month, council electoral officer Warwick Lampp said.
Voting will begin on April 9 and close on May 1, with the new councillor sworn in the following week.
Lampp estimated the process would cost $165,000 plus GST, depending on the number of candidates and voters. The electoral roll was sitting at 95,700.
All registered eligible voters will be mailed a voting pack in April.
Meanwhile, the council has voted down the first proposal to attach a referendum to the by-election, six votes to three.
Councillor Larry Baldock.
Councillor Larry Baldock had called for a public poll on the council's decision, made under time pressure in August, to change the city's voting system from First Past the Post to Single Transferable Vote.
Baldock said on reflection he believed the public should have been consulted on the change, and the by-election provided a more economical opportunity. He was supported by mayor Greg Brownless and Cr Terry Molloy.
Lampp estimated the cost to combine a poll with the by-election at $20,000 to $45,000.
Councillors voting against the proposal said there were better ways to spend the money, and more pressing issues to poll the public on.
Deputy mayor Kelvin Clout.
Deputy Mayor Kelvin Clout said there had been "virtually no public reaction" to the voting system change.
To claims voters would find the new system more confusing, Clout said it was the same as had been used for Bay of Plenty District Health Board elections for years.
"I have every confidence that Tauranga electors have the intelligence to rank their preferred candidates."
Clout has indicated he may ask for a referendum on the museum in conjunction with the by-election.
By-election timeline
February 2: Notice of election published February 5: Nominations open March 5: Nominations close at midday April 9: Voting opens, voting pack delivery begins May 1: Voting closes at midday May 3: Winner announced
How they voted Should the council poll voters on last year's decision to change the city's voting system?
For: Larry Baldock, Terry Molloy, Greg Brownless Against: Bill Grainger, Rick Curach, Leanne Brown, Kelvin Clout, Catherin Stewart, Max Mason Absent: Steve Morris
