Residents question council rejig

Greytown residents questioned whether a single Wairarapa mayor would have too big a job, when future governance options were presented at a public meeting earlier this week.

About 90 people turned out to a public meeting at Greytown Town Hall on Tuesday night.

The meeting was one of five being held this week to discuss the councils' preferred option of a Wairarapa unitary authority.

South Wairarapa Mayor Adrienne Staples explained the background to the Wairarapa governance review working party's decision for a single body, which would incorporate regional and district council functions.

Mrs Staples said they were unable to determine what regional council subsidies were received in Wairarapa, as the data was unavailable, and therefore what the impact on rates would be under a unitary authority. One member of the public questioned whether the Local Government Commission would be able determine if the option was viable if those figures were not known. Another person asked whether essential services would be lost under the model.

Another member of the public thought the unitary authority was a financially viable option and said the estimated $11.2 million regional council spend in Wairarapa was "unbelievable".

"It's more like three or four million," he said.

"We'll never get the true figure out of them."

Another resident questioned whether Wairarapa would share in the "doom, desperation and destruction" predicted during the re-organisation of Eastbourne and Petone councils some years ago.

Another questioner from the floor asked whether one person would be able to represent Wairarapa as a mayor or councillor on a Wellington council. "Do you think it's too big a job?"

Mrs Staples replied it would be full-time job that might be difficult.

She urged the public to give the working party more feedback to allow them to put an informed proposal to the commission next year.

"This is going to happen one way or another. We'd be fooling ourselves if we thought anything else."

Also in attendance were working party chair Lyn Patterson, Greater Wellington regional councillor Gary McPhee, representatives from the three district councils, and Wairarapa Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stephanie Gundersen-Reid.

A Martinborough public meeting was held last night, while Masterton's meeting is tonight at 7.30pm at the Frank Cody Lounge, Masterton Town Hall.