MEDIA RELEASE

SATURDAY 21 APRIL, 2012


An amended model of amalgamation to be promoted

Representative of electors and Nelson Mayor Aldo Miccio is disappointed that the public poll has not found in favour of amalgamation for the region, however, he will promote an amended model of council amalgamation.
Today’s public poll result showed that the majority of Nelson voters voted for amalgamation, and the majority of Tasman voters voted against amalgamation.

“Those in favour of amalgamation may not have had the result we wanted through the public poll, but our first objective had been to get an independent proposal infront of the public to consider and vote on, and we have achieved that,” Miccio says. “A vote for change is always the hardest vote to achieve, so it was always going to be a challenge.

“This process also highlighted some areas of concern in the Local Government Commission’s reorganisation scheme put in front of us this year,” he says. “Many people who support amalgamation have told me that they did not vote yes, because they did not agree with elements in the proposal on the table.

“I am going to take on board those concerns, and work with the Government as they move through their reforms, so that the amalgamation model that best suits our region is implemented,” Miccio says. “One Council remains a goal for myself and thousands of others, and we will keep striving to achieve this, as we continue to believe it offers the best model of local governance for our region.
"In the meantime, it is important that we continue working well together as representatives of our communities,” he says. “In the interim absence of amalgamation, I propose we set up a joint Shared Services Committee with the role of investigating meaningful projects where we could share services. This Committee could recommend a single building consents unit, and a single IT unit, for example.

“I have already spoken with most of my councillors and I will be speaking with Richard Kempthorne shortly, to look to consider this as soon as possible,” he says. “This initiative could also look into the possibility of including Marlborough, as at a management level over the last three years we have been working on possible Top-of-the-South joint services where the three councils could gain efficiencies, and save money. I believe it is timely to now discuss this at a political level."

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