A local community trust has called on Hamilton City Council and the Local Government Commission to implement community boards into the most marginalised suburbs.
Hamilton City Photo: http://www.hamiltonwaikato.com
The option was heard at the councils representation review hearing, hosted by the Local Government Commission on Zoom today, after council unanimously voted for two Māori wards last year.
Hamilton City Council will also adopt the Single Transferrable Voting (STV) electoral system.
Community Waikato chief executive Holly Snape told the hearing community boards should have also been included in the changes.
Over 50 percent of district councils across the country have community boards in place.
Snape said council settled on "community committee's" to test the concept, but she believed it did not have the same mandate as a community board.
"We want boards to work as a mechanism to strengthen communities through active community engagement.
"Really understanding the nuances of the issues at a neighbourhood level, and responding appropriately, becomes impossible as our city grows. But community boards encourage the village democracy approach."
Western Community Centre manager Neil Tolan said while it was a new concept for Hamilton, it was not a new concept across New Zealand.
"Many of the people in our neighbours don't engage with council as they should be. Decisions that affect their lives on a daily basis take place out of reach for them.
"I believe there are many opportunities for residents and council to work together and I believe community boards, providing the formal framework, would be mutually beneficial."
Community Waikato identified areas with higher levels of social-economic depravations levels where it would like to see community boards established, including Nawton, Melville, Hamilton Central and Fairfield-Enderly.
The trust would like to see boards phased into the community, starting in these areas first.
Hamilton City Council building Photo: RNZ / Andrew McRae
Following submissions made by the group from Community Waikato, including former mayor Margaret Evans, Local Government commissioners asked the group about funding the proposed boards.
Snape said she understood rising rates would always impact those living in the city, but believed it would be the primary reason she would pay her rates.
In right of reply, mayor Paula Southgate said she was concerned the budget required would have to be pulled from another council project.
"It would either have to come from an existing budget and often its the community projects that get ticked off because the core infrastructure is not going to be touched.
"Otherwise it would be a targeted rate, but who would you target it at? The lower socio-economic people themselves, or would you expect other people in the city to pay for the facilities for the lower socio-economic areas?"
Southgate said she did not have the answer, but it was a issue that would need to be further discussed.
She was open to any concept of community boards, or committee, but wanted to trial the most effective and efficient way.
Southgate said overall, all councils would argue for more people to engage, but it was a systemic issue, not one that solely sat with Hamilton City.
The commission will make a decision by 10 April.