Whanganui District Council announces new set of committees for next term

Mayor Andrew Tripe in the Whanganui District Council chambers this week. Photo / Bevan Conley

New committees have been introduced at the Whanganui District Council, with freshly elected members part of their makeup.

Aspirations and future projects, council-controlled organisations, strategy and policy, and operations and performance join emergency, chief executive's performance review, regulatory hearings, district licensing, and risk and assurance as committees.

Mayor Andrew Tripe said there needed to be a clear line of sight from discussion and decisions to delivery.

"I haven't looked too much at the past, only what the best fit is for those sitting around the table at the moment," Tripe said.

"We are looking to use the strengths of the experienced councillors and development opportunities for the newbies."

No committee would be more busy or important than another, Tripe said.

"I do have the ability to just develop a structure, give it to councillors, and that's it, but this was a consultative process."

The infrastructure, climate change and emergency management committee is no more.

Whanganui District Council chief executive David Langford said there were a lot of activities-based committees under the old structure, such as infrastructure and property.

"Those have all been amalgamated together into two committees - strategy and policy, which is about making plans, and operations and performance, which is about overseeing how well the council is performing when we deliver our plans.

"Hopefully, our community can see the council making good, well-thought-through plans and strategies for where we want the district to go in the future."

David Langford says there were a lot of activities-based committees under the old structure. Photo / Bevan Conley

The aspirations and future projects committee will be made up of Tripe, Rob Vinsen, Charlotte Melser, Peter Oskam, Glenda Brown, Michael Law and Helen Craig.

"This is a really good addition," Langford said.

"It's somewhere the community can come and speak to councillors if they've got an idea they want considered, and then as officers, we can go away and do the research putting together a business case."

Tripe said the committee wouldn't deliver projects but it would prioritise them and decide whether they went to the full council to be agreed to or not.

"Typically, they have a long-term focus on them. It's not just 'Do that now'.

"There might be a bit of lead time. One example is the four-star hotel concept."

There was no perfect committee structure, and the old one "had its role and reason for existing", Tripe said.

"I guess I'm now more about strategy, delivery and execution. Decisions need to lead to something.

"There has been really good discussion leading into this and the elected members have been involved in its development.

"They've bought into it and they're excited to see how it works."

Outside of the council committees, advisory groups will be led by Philippa Baker-Hogan (community funding grants and sports, recreation and wellbeing), Helen Craig (town centre rejuvenation), Kate Joblin (safer Whanganui) and Rob Vinsen (sustainability and waste).

"Advisory groups typically have members of the public on them, and there are a whole bunch of external bodies, committees and trusts that sit outside the formal structure but are a really important aspect of governance around Whanganui," Tripe said.

Those bodies include the cemeteries and crematoria advisory board, Horizons Regional Council passenger transport committee, Youth Council and the Whanganui Land Settlement Negotiation Trust Working Party.