Every few years Local Government is required to undertake a review of the number of people around the Council table. This is required by law.
One Councillor, has advocated halving the number of Councillors. This demonstrated a complete lack of understanding about how Councillor fees are set. The pool is set in Wellington and can only be spent to elected rep’s salaries. So, Councillor if I could give you a lesson on finance (you might like to pass it on to Mike Yardley) the amount payable to elected reps is set by Central Government. You can’t tinker with it (I tried to decline a pay increase as Mayor, so this is the voice of experience) and so by halving the number of Councillors all you will do is double the amount each elected rep will receive will go to $215,000 per annum.
I agree with Deputy Mayor Andrew Turner that this will mean that wealthy people will be the only ones who can afford to stand for elected office. This will distort the sort mix of people required to properly reflect the population of this City.
Here is what the Council sent out last week:
We’d like to hear what you think about the Representation Review Initial Proposal 2021
The people of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula are getting a fresh chance to help decide how many elected members (councillors and community board members) there are, how they’re elected, and what communities they represent.
You can find out more about this consultation and give feedback online. Feedback is open until 16 May 2021.
If you would like to discuss this project with the team, please join us.
TSB Space, Level 1, Tūranga, 60 Cathedral Square*
- Tuesday 23 March 11.30 am to 1.30pm
- Wednesday 31 March 4.30pm to 6.30pm
This is a shared session with colleagues from both the Long Term Plan 2018-2031 and the Draft Climate Change Strategy, so you can find out more and have your say about all three proposals.
* Please note, these sessions may need to be postponed or cancelled if the Covid alert level changes.
Can’t make these meetings?
If there is a community meeting you would like us to attend, please let me know. You can also contact me any time if you have any questions or would like to discuss the project. You can email me, or give me a call on the numbers below.
We will have some CCC staff members coming to speak to the Tuesday Club on this matter in a few weeks.
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