People wanting to make a submission on the Otago Regional Council’s (ORC) representation review still have another month to do so.

ORC chief executive Richard Saunders said last week that due to a procedural error in submissions to date, people weren’t asked for their contact details so they could be advised of the opportunity to appear at any future hearings.

“Under the Local Electoral Act, we need to have asked for those details,” he said.

Already 120 submissions have come in for the review, which will see an extra councillor for Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago.

Richard highlighted the 120 submissions so far remained valid and all would be counted, although he encouraged those people to resubmit so they can be advised of their rights to attend future hearings.

“Hopefully in extending the consultation period we can build further on the number of submissions on the representation review. '

ORC has the contact details of almost half of the 120 submitters and will be contacting them directly, he said.

A look at how the ORC wards are divided. IMAGE: Supplied/ORC

The month-long submission period was scheduled to close on Sunday, August 11, but will now be extended a further month to Sunday, September 8.

The time extension will not add any cost to the process, he said.

Richard said the mistake arose from the different rules governing public input into consultation, submissions or feedback being sought from the public and ratepayers, including requirements over privacy disclosures.

He said while extending the submission period will add several weeks to process, it would not hinder the overall timetable and considerations that will be made by Council.

Visit the ORC website for more information.

The initial proposal will be brought back to the June council meeting for notification by council.

From there, the formal consultation and submissions process will follow. Council will then receive a final proposal for adoption.