One mayor proposes a merger, another worries it's 'selling hugs and rainbows'

“Four councils are too many for a population of 100,000 – there’s a lot of efficiencies we can do by merging together."

Southland District Mayor Rob Scott and Gore District Mayor Ben Bell.

Southland District Mayor Rob Scott believes four councils in Southland is too many and says now is the time to talk mergers in search of cost savings.

Scott is proposing that two unitary authorities be created for Southland, rather than the four councils in place at the moment.

Under the proposal one unitary authority would be district-based, and would be made up of the Southland and Gore districts, along with regional council functions for that area.

The other authority would be urban-based and would include Invercargill City Council and regional council functions for it.

Scott advised the region’s other mayors, and Environment Southland chairman Nicol Horrell, of his proposal earlier on Wednesday before he went public on the proposal under a “no surprises policy”.

He said it was a journey that the whole of Southland would need to go on, not just the Southland District.

While Gore Mayor Ben Bell was open to conversations about how local government can provide a more efficient service for Southland he said: “I worry that the proposal, as announced, is factually incorrect, misleading and essentially selling struggling ratepayers hugs and rainbows.”

Amalgamation was just one option for Southland to be more efficient, he said.

Bell said his priority was ensuring the council did what was best for the Gore District.

Scott - Southland District’s mayor - did not believe a single unitary authority for all of Southland would work as there are totally different communities of interest in district and urban communities and priorities would not align.

In Southland at the moment there is the Southland District Council, Invercargill City Council, Gore District Council, and Environment Southland, which is the regional council.

“Four councils are too many for a population of 100,000 – there’s a lot of efficiencies we can do by merging together and preliminary estimates show $10 million a year can be saved,” Scott said.

“Over a Long-Term Plan, it is $100m, that is a lot of money in a small ratepayer base so it is a reason to press on I think.”

Scott said the Local Government sector was operating under a lot of pressure at the moment which had seen through the rate rises across the board.

“Now is the time to be addressing this important change.”

Scott said the proposal could see 20 fewer councillors, two fewer chief executives, two fewer mayors/chair, and two fewer long-term plans.

Environment Southland chair Nicol Horrell said the amalgamation proposal from the Southland District Mayor was a timely conversation.

He said there were certainly efficiencies to be gained in local government and looked forward to a conversation with council colleagues and communities on it.

“Seeking efficiencies makes sense where similar services exist. I’m less certain that, at first read, the Mayor’s proposal is where we’ll end up but let’s work together as a region for the best Southland solution.

“We’ve heard from our community through the Long-term Plan process that we need to be looking for efficiencies, and we’re committed to that. I’m sure the Southland District mayor and councillors heard the same when they recently consulted on their own Long-term Plan and no doubt the council is facing difficult decisions around rate setting.”

Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark also released a statement on the matter saying that it would not be appropriate for him to make further comment until the Gore District Council and Environment Southland have had time to consider it.

“I also need time to discuss the proposal with my elected colleagues and our Chief Executive.

“The decisions required are not to be taken without due consideration,” Clark said.

A report around the proposal will now go to a full Southland District Council meeting on August 26.

If it is endorsed by the council it will go to the next stage which would probably be the setting up of a working party and engaging with the other councils.

One of the key principles for Southland District Council was the retention of a local voice, and empowering the community boards and river liaison committees to be able to do more through further delegations, Scott said.

“This proposal will reduce cost, improve efficiency, reduce complexity, and keep the local in community decision-making. There’s also more alignment in catchments and the ability to have a one-stop shop for consenting.

“We need to lead the way and look for the right structure for Southland now, rather than wait for something to happen, which never does,” Scott said.

“We, as the elected representatives of the people of Southland, need to hear the call for change and be brave enough to look at other local government models, such as unitary authorities, which have been done successfully in other parts of New Zealand.”

Scott pointed out there are a lot of similarities between Nelson and Tasman unitary authorities and what could be happen here in the south, as Tasman is rural, with environmental issues to manage, and Nelson is principally urban with a different set of issues to cover.