Tauranga's commission wants local elections delayed by a year and for a Government appointee to oversee the city council for at least three years.
But one ratepayer group says some members are vowing to stop paying rates if the commission doesn't move on.
In a report to the Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta, commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said the plan would address the risk of a "factionalised elected council" unraveling commission decisions.
Mahuta appointed Tolley, along with Shadrach Rolleston, Bill Wasley and Stephen Selwood as commissioners last February to govern Tauranga City Council after months of infighting in the elected council. Elected members who hadn't already resigned were discharged from their duties.
The commission was given the power to act in their place until the local body elections scheduled for October. It was also tasked with mapping a path back to an elected council.
In a December report to the minister, recently made publicly available, Tolley said the commission recommended the election be postponed 12 months.
"Concerns continue to be raised with us through our community engagement activities about the possibility that dysfunctional governance could again impact the future effectiveness of an elected council."
Commissioners believed the risks could be best managed by delaying the city's elections until October 2023 and appointing a Crown manager to "oversee council governance" until the 2025 local government elections.
Tolley said this would allow work on tackling Tauranga's growth, infrastructure and community facility issues - including funding and financing - to continue.
"A Crown manager would also give the community assurance that the decisions they have supported through the last LTP (long-term Plan) process could not be readily reversed by a factionalised elected council."
A spokeswoman for the minister's office said Mahuta would only be in a position to comment once decisions on Tauranga's governance were made in the near future.
Sustainable Bay of Plenty also wrote to the minister with its concern for local democracy.
Executive director Glen Crowther told the Bay of Plenty Times the group saw no grounds to justify delaying the election.
"There's never been a more important time in Tauranga's history to have people who are accountable and people you can contact and talk to."
Crowther was concerned at what he believed was a lack of voices actively challenging the commission on key decisions, such as the Cameron Rd project.
Tauranga Ratepayers' Alliance spokesman Michael O'Neill said the city had "learned its lesson and should move back to a fully elected council".
"Most of our members are saying if we don't get democracy back, they are not going to pay their rates."
The alliance formed following the 2020 council fallout and had some discharged councillors in its steering group.
O'Neill, also Mount Maunganui Residents, Ratepayers and Retail Association president, said a year's delay would not change the risk of commission decisions being reversed.
"If a council wants to undo their work, if they are democratically elected and have the support of the people, then they have every right to."
Citizens' Advocacy Tauranga chairman Rob Paterson said, in his view, the commission was not truly listening to the community, citing Links Ave as an example where its decision went against residents' concerns.
Paterson believed the elections should take place this year but accepted the potential need for a Crown manager to oversee the future council.
Tauranga MP Simon Bridges said there was no sufficient reason to "stall local democracy".
In his view: "An unelected council comes with a very real downside.
Bridges said in his opinion: "It is hard to hold anyone accountable. When there are issues with rubbish, with water (and Three Waters) . . . the reality of elected officials is that there is someone ... to boot out come election time."
"It's time to get back to local democracy."
Grace Road, Avenues and Neighbourhood Residents Association chairman Phil Green said it would be wise to delay elections "until we get through things like Cameron Rd, the CBD rebuild and racecourse project".
"In the past when we've had a change of council, or leadership, everything gets put on the backburner or tossed aside.
"People need to realise this city needed a shock to get itself kickstarted again. We are seeing improvements and decisions being made."
Green said most people he had spoken to wanted the commission to stay.
"We have growth pains, like every city will, and not everyone will agree with outcomes but at least something is being done . . . I think we are on the right track."
A Tauranga Chamber of Commerce survey of nearly 600 local businesses found 59 per cent of respondents wanted the commission to stay another term.
Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley said the city needed a reset and the commission had only had a year.
Cowley said the chamber had taken a strong stance, on behalf of its members, in favour of the commission staying because the community's issues were also key for businesses.
Examples included employers struggling to find homes for new staff, pay rise demand and escalating rental prices.
He said chamber support for increasing commercial rates, regulatory fees and development contributions "shows the business community supports progress and investment when they have trust and confidence with those at the governance level."
Cowley said he believed Tauranga still had democracy.
"If local democracy was only measured in local elections, then Tauranga's low voter turnout would suggest we have had weak democracy for many years."
In his view, commissioners had been more accessible and engaging with the community than some previous elected members.
Regarding the criticisms raised, Tolley said the commission's request to the minister was in response to "hundreds of comments over the past 13 months" from people concerned that the city's progress could be undone with the election.
Tolley said the commissioners were genuinely committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for Tauranga and had been accessible via community meetings, meeting with community and interest groups and at commissioner clinics.
"Pleasing everyone is not a realistic expectation. Good governance sometimes means making tough decisions, and in the case of Links Ave that has meant prioritising the safety of school children ahead of the convenience of people who want to use the street as a thoroughfare it was never designed to be.
"We will continue to be accessible and responsive to everyone in the community for the remainder of our tenure."
About a Crown manager
A Crown manager, appointed by the Government, can direct a local authority to the extent authorised by his or her terms of reference.
The manager must direct the local authority to address the problem defined in the terms and can also make recommendations to the minister for further action.
The local body must co-operate with the manager to fulfil the terms of reference, and comply with directions and reasonable requests to provide information.
Source: Local Government Act
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