Too early to talk mergers, Mayor told

Alan Livingston says amalgamation discussions won't be on the agenda until the Government confirms its position. Photo / APN

Waipa's mayor has no mandate to discuss amalgamation on the district's behalf because the council hasn't discussed it, a councillor says.

Waipa District councillor Vern Wilson has put forward a notice of motion for today's full council meeting calling on the council to form a collective view on amalgamation before the mayor made any suggestions or recommendations to his fellow mayors.

The Waikato's 11 mayors set up the mayoral forum in March to explore possible options for shared services and amalgamation. The next meeting is to be held on June 11.

But Waipa mayor Alan Livingston said Mr Wilson was jumping the gun as the forum was only investigating shared services, and any recommendations would have to be approved by the Waipa District Council.

Amalgamation discussions would not be on the agenda until the Government confirmed its position on the local government reform this year, he said.

"The councillor has no issue to be concerned about."

Mr Livingston said the council had been given updates on the two mayoral forums so far and the council supported work around shared services.

"There has been no call, no justification for reviewing our current position."

However, Mr Wilson worried any discussion at the mayoral forum could be seen by the Government as a sign by the region to progress with amalgamation.

"What I wanted was Waipa to draw a line in the sand and say we are happy to amalgamate services and all sorts of things and get more efficient but I don't want to amalgamate Waipa into Hamilton or any other area.

"No one has got a mandate to speak about it because we've never formally discussed it or made a decision."

Mr Wilson supported amalgamating services but did not want Waipa to be "gobbled up" by Hamilton City Council.

Councillor Marcus Gower said he would be prepared to second Mr Wilson's motion so it could be discussed.

Former Coromandel MP Sandra Goudie said councillors should be able to discuss their views on amalgamation at any time.

But she believed the focus should be more on ensuring councils were carrying out business in the most efficient and affordable way.

The Hamilton City Council has already discussed amalgamation and signalled it supported extending the city's boundaries and reducing the number of councils in the region.