Council meets on Wednesday for the first time this year, and what a year it is going to be.

We have got a huge amount ahead of us, including a Long-Term Plan discussion that, with the best intentions in the world, is going to lead to significant rates rises that I am sure none of your councillors would want to bring in if we had a choice.

We also have a Representation Review coming up, which is our one in every six years look at how we structure our governance at council

Wednesday’s agenda has a paper about the Representation Review, which should make for an interesting discussion. 

The Representation Review has a different process than other consultations Council runs. 

Normally we would say “here’s some ideas, we think this might be the best one out of them, what do you think”? 

The Representation Review doesn’t allow that; we have to say what we think the best idea(s) are moving forward and the public then says whether they favour those or not with council then left with a binary yes/no decision with the public input as part of it.

That is why the pre-consultation we do with the public is so important, because it allows us to shape our thinking before going out with the mandated black or white actual consultation. 

What goes in to the pre-consultation survey is what will be discussed on Wednesday.

I find these discussions fascinating as different councillors air their views, listen to others and come to a conclusion on how we should move forward. 

You might find them interesting too. I know it’s not easy for everyone to get to these meetings, but they are live-streamed and also the recordings are available for you to watch afterwards. The picture quality would not get a nomination at this year’s Oscars, but it is possible to see who is speaking and hear what they’re saying.

If you are interested, check out Meetings - Central Otago District Council (codc.govt.nz) for more details.