MEDIA RELEASE: Preliminary decision welcomed by Napier Mayor

15 September 2015

News the people of Hawke’s Bay have voted against a proposed amalgamation of the region’s councils was welcomed by Napier Mayor Bill Dalton this afternoon (Tuesday 15 September).

“It’s no secret this result is what I was hoping for. It’s been a long process, and in my book a complete waste of time, resource and money.”

Mayor Dalton said it was now time to move forward and he was looking forward to the region’s councils working together where appropriate.

“There’s no way it will be status quo going forward. It’s imperative we work regionally on certain projects. While this is actually already happening, as more opportunities to do so come up, we will certainly be embracing them.”

The Mayor said the one thing everyone on both sides of the debate had agreed on over the past few years was the fact Hawke’s Bay was a fantastic region.

“We will always work to promote the region as a whole, but what got lost in this debate, was the fact that the role of council’s is about their communities – and across Hawke’s Bay our communities are very different. We need smaller agile councils who can look after the needs of their ratepayers as well as be advocates of the region in conjunction will their fellow councils on the bigger issues such as tourism and business development.”

Napier City Council Chief Executive Wayne Jack said he was also pleased with the outcome of the referendum.

“At the end of the day, people were saying amalgamation would provide a silver bullet to things that councils actually have no mandate over. I’m delighted we can now get on and do the work our ratepayers expect us to do without this distraction hanging over us.”

Mr Jack said he would continue to work with the chief executives of the regions other councils to identify additional share service opportunities.

“Our current shared service arrangements are working really well. We will continue to build on the good work and the collaboration.”

For more information about the preliminary result visit http://www.electionz.com/HBRP/returns.htm

ENDS

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