Editorial: Mayor hits the ground running

Rotorua's new mayor Steve Chadwick has hit the ground running.

Rotorua's new mayor has certainly hit the ground running.

Today we reveal the sweeping changes she is intending to make to the Rotorua District Council's structure.

She wants to scrap the three big committees, instead introducing two super committees and six targeted groups. Janet Wepa will continue to lead one of the committees while Merepeka Raukawa-Tait has been given a big promotion to lead the other.

Ms Raukawa-Tait has the CV outside of the council to back up the promotion and it will be good to see how she performs. Mrs Wepa on the other hand is a steady and experienced hand - so could be seen as a clever move to maintain the consistency.

The idea behind the changes is to get council committee meetings shorter and more focused. It should also work to make councillors more engaged in individual projects.

Despite there being a new mayor and chief executive officer (Geoff Williams), there were few changes voted into the councillor line-up with just three of 12 being new faces, Rob Kent, Tania Tapsell and Peter Bentley.

A new structure will hopefully help build a culture of change and bring a fresh approach for those who have been around a while.

Mrs Chadwick ran away with the mandate to be our mayor. She worked hard to get the votes and could be excused for wanting to take a little breather to settle into the job. Not so.