Update June 3, 2021

Thank you for submitting on the Mackenzie District Council Election Review. The submission period has now closed and the submissions have been uploaded to Let’s Talk. If you would like to read the submissions you can download them here.

The Election Review was first promoted on our Let’s Talk engagement website in October last year. Since then, 458 people have looked at the Election Review page, 205 people have clicked documents or links on that page and read further information, and 54 people have asked questions or submitted their thoughts. It has been great to see this engagement. Your feedback has really helped us get a feel for what the community wants.

The next steps:

1. I am reviewing your submissions to see if changes can be made to the proposal to address the issues you have raised. The council is restricted by electoral legislation, so in some cases we cannot do what you suggest. But sometimes it is possible to make adjustments.
2. I am also seeking advice on whether the proposed changes would have a rates impact on some ratepayers, and what that impact would be.
3. A report with this information will go to the councillors to be considered in a council meeting. The council is pretty busy working on the Long Term Plan at the moment (our 10-year budget for the entire district), so this matter will need to wait until July or August. The councillors will consider all the information, including your submissions, before making a decision.
4. The outcome of this will be advertised and posted on both the Let’s Talk platform and Council’s website. Members of the public who feel strongly will then have an opportunity to appeal the council decision if they are not happy.