Day of Democracy: Convivial council gets the job done

Thursday, 24 October 2024

The Ōtorohanga District Council met on Wednesday for an efficiently run and respectful meeting.

In the first of a series, the Waikato Times visits a council meeting to see small town democracy in action - today it’s Ōtorohanga District.

Upcoming changes to its kerbside recycling regime, the future of the district’s parks and reserves, and a glowing annual report were some of the highlights of a convivial, and often light-hearted, Ōtorohanga District Council meeting.

The council met on Wednesday, and also saw a heart-warming and informative report made by students from Ōtorohanga Primary School regarding their worm farming and composting efforts as part of the Waikato Regional Council-sponsored Enviroschools project.

A feature of the meeting was the most congenial and respectful atmosphere, fostered by mayor Max Baxter, between councillors, staff and attendees.

Such was the bonhomie in the Kiwiana captial of the world, the only thing missing was mayor Max delivering pikelets from his own tea-towel draped basket.

The Ōtorohanga District Council did its job quickly, efficiently and without fuss.

But with a cuppa in hand speaking with councillors during a break, they said they made most of the hard decisions during open workshops and committee meetings, and the high quality, comprehensive reports presented to councillors by staff made decision making a lot easier.

And while the Waikato Times arrived unannounced, provision was quickly made for this reporter who was rapidly furnished with a desk, the council’s wifi password, and a very welcome cup of joe.

The meeting started with an opportunity for the public to speak directly to councillors however, no one in the public gallery took up the offer and the meeting quickly progressed to the adoption of the council’s annual report.

Presented by the council’s finance manager Brendan O’Callaghan, the report stated “no significant issues have been identified as a part of the audit process”.

Ōtorohanga, the ‘Kiwiana’ capital of New Zealand.

Councillor and risk and assurance committee deputy chairperson Kit Jeffries said the committee had met with their independent auditor and were “very pleased with the report”.

“Council’s financial position remains strong despite these challenging economic conditions,” Ōtorohanga mayor Max Baxter said.

“As signalled in our 2021 long-term plan, we have taken on debt to fund some of our large infrastructure projects that will benefit multiple generations.”

The council expects to collect $18.6m worth of rates over the 2023/24 financial year and has total debt of $9.4m.

The annual report was adopted unanimously.

Talk then turned to consideration of a new multi-use sports park on 9ha of land gifted to the council for use as a rural park on Ōtewā Rd.

Ōtorohanga mayor Max Baxter said a lot of work had been done to foster respectful decision making around the council table.

The sports park concept was seen as an option for future-proofing recreation space for the community, but after a detailed investigation council staff said it was “not possible to accommodate a sports park component without significantly compromising the rural park vision”.

Councillors agreed unanimously with staff not to proceed with the multi-use concept and then moved a recommendation to start public consultation on its draft Ōtorohanga Reserves Strategy and Management Plan.

Consultation on the plan begins on November 1 and runs until January 24 with deliberations expected to start in February.

A detailed report on changes to the district’s kerbside recycling scheme will see the council introduce an additional recycling crate for glass only and explore a shared services agreement for waste disposal with the Waitomo District Council.

The council also signalled a move away from rubbish bags and into wheelie bins for general household waste along with a larger mixed recycling bin and food waste container - however, those options would be expanded on during the council’s 2027 to 2037 long-term plan process.

In another unanimous vote, councillors have allowed the Kāwhia and Ōtorohanga Community Boards to approve their own local road names.

The move to introduce its Road Naming and Numbering Policy was made after “issues that arose during the approval process for proposed road names in the new subdivision located between Harpers Ave and Thomson Ave”.

The new policy also incorporates community and iwi/Māori feedback and changes designed to improve the road naming process.

Councillors then received the Thrive Ōtorohanga Youth Trust’s annual report and an update on how the trust has spent its $30,000 annual council grant.

Thrive chief executive Peter Coventry said he was conscious of the irony of having two Zimbabweans, and an Australian, on its staff of five, and admitted the organisation “needed to be better skilled in communicating and engaging with our Maori community”.

Also approved on the day were State Highway 3 road closures for Ōtorohanga’s Christmas Parade, a quarterly financial report, and the Maru Energy Trust’s end of financial year report.