New governance options to be aired

A shortlist of local government options - including a possible Wairarapa councils merger - will be floated to the public before mid-2016, says the Local Government Commission.

In June the concept of a Wellington "super-city", amalgamating all the councils of the region, was pulled.

The commission's new chairman, Sir Wira Gardiner, said many had expressed a need for a change and the commission intended to go back to the districts to consult on that.

There was a clear signal from Local Government Minister Paula Bennett that she was prepared to legislate if the best options were outside the existing framework.

"We intended instead to go back to the communities and consult with them on identifying the most pressing challenges for their region and arriving at consensus on the possible options for meeting them," Sir Wira said.

"Since then there has been a reset in the relationship between the commission and councils and we have had a number of very constructive meetings at chief executive and mayoral level.

"We are also meeting with the Wairarapa mayors to discuss their particular needs and have meetings planned with each council in the region."

Sir Wira said the commission and the Wellington Regional Mayoral Forum will shortlist two or three packages of options and put them before the public in the first half of 2016.

"The councils and the commission will announce our final proposals in mid-2016," he said.

All options are on the table, except for a single unitary council across the region. The range of possibilities could include different business structures or Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs), binding shared service arrangements, recalibrating roles and functions between regional councils and territorial authorities, and even, where communities support them, some smaller amalgamations.

Commission spokesman Simon Cunliffe said the amalgamation of the three Wairarapa councils was a possibility. "It is too early to say.

"There are, however, likely to be some differences in the potential options for the western Wellington councils and Wairarapa."