An appetite for amalgamation - a case study
Thursday, 7 November 2024
Is it time to amalgamate the region’s councils? In part two of a series, the Waikato Times talks to two mayors at the coalface of the debate.
It could be seen as a decades long ‘will they won’t they’, but the closest any of the Waikato region’s councils have come to amalgamation has been between Ōtorohanga and Waitomo.
Ōtorohanga mayor Max Baxter said he’d been through the same discussion at various times during his 11-year tenure as mayor, and while there was “no appetite within the district” for amalgamation right now, any future talk of amalgamation would need to include Waipā as well.
Conversely, Waitomo mayor John Robertson said amalgamation of the two was a “no brainer” and would save ratepayers millions.
Interestingly, from 1922 to 1976, Waitomo was under the control of the Ōtorohanga County Council, and in 2004 the Local Government Commission ordered a referendum be held on whether locals wanted a unified King Country District Council set up.
Ōtorohanga District Council: Based in Ōtorohanga
Population: 10,500
District size: 1976 km2
Total revenue: $24.3 million
Current debt: $6.5 million
* Figures taken from the 2022/23 annual report.
Needless to say, more than 85% of Ōtorohanga residents voted against the merger and 60% of Waitomo residents voted for it. For the merger to succeed, more than 50% of both communities had to vote yes.
Baxter said for years his council has been told if they did not invest in the conversation then it could happen “by stealth” through central government intervention.
“The overriding reason … to not amalgamate is the fear of districts losing their identities, loss of control over decision making, and inheriting amalgamated councils debt.”
Baxter said he could see no benefit to amalgamating solely with Waitomo “as the two districts do not possess the critical mass to provide any tangible benefit”.
“Amalgamation, in my opinion would include Waitomo, Ōtorohanga and part or all of Waipā.
“I will add there is currently no collective desire to progress these conversations.”
Baxter said Ōtorohanga already shared some of its services with its neighbouring councils. These included dog and animal control, civil defence, and water services contracts.
His council were also in talks to share waste and recycling services with Waitomo in future, and were “always looking for opportunities to share services across the Waikato looking for savings in procurement and delivery of services”.
Waitomo District Council: Based in Te Kūiti
Population: 9600
District size: 3534 km2
Total revenue: $47.9 million
Current debt: $33.3 million
* Figures taken from the 2023/24 annual report.
Waitomo mayor John Robertson said amalgamation of the two district’s would bring down their administration costs and pass savings on to ratepayers.
He said it was the unanimous view of his council to amalgamate with Ōtorohanga and was a “no brainer”.
“Yes, we can share more services, but ultimately amalgamation would cut through all this an provide administration savings in the millions … but for various reasons councils have struggled to make substantial progress in this area.”
Robertson said having one District Plan would also make sense.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult for councils with small populations to run all their services as efficiently as larger councils, and scale is important at times to spread costs, attract staff, and procure goods and services at competitive prices.
“One audit fee, one chief executive, one regulatory service, one long-term plan, one district plan, the list goes on.
“The savings would be north of a million dollars, annually.”
He said with populations “hovering around 10,000” both districts have similar profiles.
“Whether it be our farming base, sports activities, or iwi affiliations, we participate together without thinking about district council boundaries.
“We are substantially the King Country, Maniapoto … it’s surely time to consider this option once again.”