Taupō District Council to investigate options for its future (i.e. Not necessarily Turangi’s future)

(As TRM have been asked why recent blogs were about rebranding Turangi etc. The main reason was to increase awareness of the unitary process the council are now planning for. See below:)

Despite concerns about the tight timeframe, the mayor and councillors of the Taupō District Council will begin investigating whether the council should join a group of other councils to create a unitary authority.

Last week, the Government proposed two options for reforming local government.

The first is a Head Start pathway, which gives councils three months to work with others in their region to develop a proposal to create a unitary authority.

The second option is a backstop process, which will involve the government stepping in to ensure reform still happens; or, as the government put it, ‘reform, or we will do it for you’.

A unitary authority is a local government body that combines the functions of both a regional council and one or more district or city councils.

Taupo is asking, “Trust us”! Trust them? All they will be concentrating on is their superannuation packages and who else might employ them when the staff numbers are cut.

In our wonderful part of the world, we are particularly fortunate to have a councillor who has been through all this amalgamation nonsense before. Duncan Campbell was a senior traffic engineer for Waitakere City Council when it merged with Auckland Super City in 2010, and is now in his second term as a Taupo councillor.

After being involved in the largest local council amalgamation in NZ, he has been through the process of big expectations from bigger promises, resulting in disappointments all round. But will Taupo Council listen carefully to his advice? He suggests there will be no TDC (Taupo District Council) in a year or two and he won’t miss it so much! Every Friday he posts on Facebook a revealing weekly review of council news, which is very informative and even truthful – such a rare gift in politics.

Last week’s Duncan Does Taupo FRIDAYS FABULOUS BLOCKBUSTER Councillor Duncan here with a doozey of an update this time – no more Taupo District Council after 2028!

What a great opportunity to sort out Turangi.

What a strange fishing report… Duncan does not have time for fishing.