Communities of interest" determine local board boundaries in supercity

With the marriage between North Rodney and the Kaipara District having been called off, issues such as ward boundaries and the locations of local boards have taken on more relevance for local residents.

These decisions lie in the hands of the independent Local Government Commission.
Unlike the Royal Commission and Select Committee, which were tasked with making recommendations to Government, the Local Government Commission’s decisions are binding, chief executive officer Donald Riezebos says.

Government can amend the Commission’s findings, “but only in a few cases, and only on technical issues”.

In deciding the boundaries and numbers of wards and the makeup of the boards, the Commission must work within the parameters in the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill, which state there must be between 20 and 30 local boards – with provision for more to achieve effective community representation – and between four and nine members on each board.

Commissioners will meet mayors and councillors of all eight Councils this month, as well as “selected groups, generally with a region-wide focus”. Mr Riezebos says these groups include Maori, Federated Farmers and the Salvation Army.

What they are looking for, to assist in their decision-making, is “communities of interest”.

The Commission’s guidelines identify three dimensions of communities of interest:

• residents’ sense of identity with a community
• the ability to meet residents’ needs for services (both council and non-council services)
• the ability to represent the interests and reconcile conflicts of the community

The Commission will release draft proposals for public comment, via its website www.lgc.govt.nz before making its final determinations.

Timeline:

• Local Government Commission seeks initial input on Auckland’s communities of interest by October 16.

• Commission releases draft proposals by November 20.

• Commission seeks responses to draft proposals by December 11.

• Commission revises proposals as necessary next January.

• Commission approves final determinations by March 1, 2010.