Buller mayor Jamie Cleine, Greymouth mayor Tania Gibson and West Coast Regional Council chairman Peter Haddock. Photo: Supplied
West Coast council leaders say they agree change is needed for local government but will wait to see if they will be forced into amalgamation.
The Independent Review of Local Government, released yesterday, has found local communities "are not well served" in the relationship between central and local government.
It recommends embedding a wellbeing focus, authentic Treaty partnerships, reform via amalgamations, strengthening local democracy including four-year terms, a voting age of 16, and increasing funding via the Crown.
Greymouth mayor Tania Gibson said at this point it seemed unlikely the review would go far.
"We've had a lot of reports - it's another report. It's whether the government picks it up. There's some quite good points in there - a lot of it we're doing already."
Gibson said a change in attitude from the top was her number one concern.
"At the moment we're being treated with disdain. They come in and make big announcements, talk to you, and then leave.
"There's been a lot of reports on funding which central government hasn't taken any notice of - I don't want to be cynical...
"The model needs to be fixed or some alignments with shared services. We'll see."
Buller mayor Jamie Cleine said the report signalled good direction but the sector needed "reasonably urgent changes".
"The funding thing needs to be addressed quite soon. Again, what we're asked to deliver and what is affordable, arguably from rates alone is just not affordable."
No structural change would mean service reductions "quite soon", Cleine said.
"If the rates are becoming unaffordable, and we're hearing that, you just have to get less service."
He had yet to "test" governance change in Buller but he warned it would be fraught.
"My gut feeling is there would be a strong negative reaction of an alignment and centralised running from Greymouth.
"We shouldn't be closed meantime to the options. We should be exploring them and do what's right for the community."
Cleine said buying into the community board/unitary council model, used in Auckland, needed a dose of reality.
It would be dangerous for the West Coast to be "sucked into some democratic voice jargon".
"To make that a meaningful platform would require a significant resource and starts to look pretty inefficient again," he said.
And the premise of self-determination, as proposed, contrasted with the 2016-19 Local Government Commission investigation, which had been "bullsh***" and resulted in an outcome of a regional plan that people were not expecting at the time.
"The TTPP was a pretty big extrapolation."
Gibson said the TTPP had its pluses as greater regional collaboration was now paving a way forward.
"It has forced everyone to work together ... I think that's a good model for the rest of the country."
West Coast Regional Council chairman Peter Haddock said rectifying the lack of Crown rates - with 80 percent of the region in Department of Conservation administration - would be a big win.
"We have been severely disadvantaged."
West Coast ratepayers had come under pressure by government decisions for local councils to take on more, impacting directly onto ratepayers, Haddock said.
"I think it's disproportionate that our small region ends up paying a lot more (in rates) than the bigger centres."
He believed council amalgamation "or at least functions" would happen and was openly being discussed now.
"Our councils are all working collaboratively, talking about ways we can share our services ... so we are not doubling up, so we can get value for money. I would rather have it that we can sort it ourselves."
Representation across a 650 kilometre-long region was complex but an "overarching" structure was likely, Haddock said.
However, retaining a mayor for the main towns would be vital in any change.
"There is some discussion around that, that we get some real cost savings, but I think there has to be a presence."
Westland mayor Helen Lash did not respond to requests for comment.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ