Waikato District Council has rejected a call from Te Uku and Waitetuna residents to align the Raglan Ward and Community Board boundaries. Although a number of residents travelled to Ngaruawahia to state their case the request was rejected. An advertisement in today’s Waikato Times says that, ‘doing this would dilute the role of the Ward Councillor in the rural area’.
The advertisement went onto say that the concerns of submitters were best dealt with outside the review process – ‘Through a review of delegations, for example’.
Other submissions about the makeup of the Raglan Community Board were also rejected.
In a surprise move the District Council accepted requests to align the Raglan Ward Councillor boundary with the area along the Raglan deviation. They said it better reflected the community of interest and the physical barrier of the range of hills.
The Public Notice on these decisions is not yet available on the District Council’s website.
Those of us who objected now need to decide whether to appeal. There seems little logic in a partial extension of the RCB boundary. That also dilutes the councillor’s role. Although not in the official notices, the minutes recording the decision are at http://waidc.govt.nz/CMSFiles/92/92ef88e4-391a-4de6-81f1-6442d4603198.pdf.