Since my inauguration in 2003, I have been asked by many people, “What is it like, being a councillor?” Recently, a couple of people have e-mailed me, asking me to sum up what exactly a councillor does. These are really two different questions but as so many people have asked them in the same conversation, I will endeavour to answer both here.

I was appointed to the following committees in the last term of council…

• Environmental Well-Being Committee (Deputy Chairperson)
• Economic Well-Being Committee
• Infrastructural Well-Being Committee
• Hearings Committee
• Audit & Performance Review Committee
• Long Term Council Community Plan/Annual Plan Committee.

For this term of council, I am on the following committees:

• Environmental & Planning Well-Being Committee
• Infrastructural Well-Being Committee
• Finance & Economic Well-Being Committee
• Audit & Performance Committee
• Hearings Committee

Papaioea Ward is the largest Ward in Palmerston North. It is the largest in area and, in June 2003, it was estimated that the population had reached 20,600 residents. Palmerston North’s population was estimated at 77,100 at that time.

I have represented Papaioea residents at the Council table since my inauguration in February 2003. Prior to this, I had spent three years as Deputy Chair of the Papaioea Ward Committee (which is a committee of council made up of the Ward councillors and six elected members of the local community).

Map of the Papaioea Ward of Palmerston North.

This month sees the end of the first full Long Term Council Community Plan undertaken by this council and community. The LTCCP sets the direction we will be taking for the next ten years and also includes some longer-term projects that are scheduled to be progressively developed over a much longer period than that. As a council, we still have many more meetings and debates to go before we finalise the Plan and adopt it on 28th June. By law, the Plan must be adopted by 30th, so there is no leeway for anyone who wishes to derail the process.

I am a very fit and healthy person, which is just as well as I have a low tolerance for those times when I am not up to par. I had to undergo surgery a couple of weeks ago and although the doctors and my specialist all said to expect to take six weeks to recover, I really expected to be back to normal within two weeks. Somehow my body and my willpower have been at odds over this and I am now having to concede that the medical professionals are right. This has caused me to have to tender apologies for a few committee meetings and a couple of workshops. Luckily, PNCC has some wonderful staff who are making sure I stay up to speed and are keeping me informed of the outcomes. I shouldn’t be missing any council meetings and at least I will go into these fully informed - but, oh boy! is this enforced rest frustrating!

The Department of Internal Affairs produces some interesting information about local government. Just in case any of you may get these questions on a Trivial Pursuit challenge, I thought I would share…

In both 2001 and 2004, the sitting Mayor was defeated. 2001 saw 4 Mayoral candidates, in 2004 we had 6.

The average number of registered voters for each of the 15 council positions was 3,398 in 2001 and 3,439 in 2004.

In 2001, 40 candidates stood for election to council, in 2004 it was 37, but in 2001 only 53% of sitting councillors were re-elected, whereas in the last election, 80% were re-elected.

I have been appointed to the following committees in this new term of council…

• Environmental Well-Being Committee (Deputy Chairperson)
• Economic Well-Being Committee
• Infrastructural Well-Being Committee
• Hearings Committee
• Audit & Performance Review Committee
• Long Term Council Community Plan/Annual Plan Committee.

At this time, Terms of Reference are still being discussed and a meeting schedule has yet to be finalised.

Palmerston North City Council has assets of just over $1 billion. It is estimated that there are currently around 28,000 ratepayers in the city. This means every ratepayer has an investment of over $35,000 in Palmerston North.

Manukau City has recently quantified the investment their residents have. “Most would agree if they had $20,000 invested in any company they would certainly be interested in the decisions being made and the board that represents their interest,” Manukau Electoral Officer John Skelton said.

In July 2004 a small group of councillors put forward a resolution to stop the City Heart project. This was defeated by a majority of council. However, this is election time and misinformation is spreading around the city. I was asked to explain what happened and as the explanation may be of interest to more than just the person who asked me, I have decided to post it here.

Councillor Kelly had been complaining that debate on City Heart was being stifled. City Heart had been on the agenda of the July City Council meeting with the Chair of the City Heart Steering Group scheduled to give an oral report on progress. However, when the Chairperson, Marilyn Craig, did not attend the item was dropped. I was approached by Cr. Claridge and asked if I would support a resolution which would allow debate on the issue to take place. The resolution required the signatures of six councillors to enable an extraordinary meeting to take place. Cr Kelly had support from Cr’s Claridge, Tanguary, Findlay and Brown.

I am a firm believer in democracy and I also felt that there needed to be an opportunity for debate on the City Heart project, so I was happy to sign a resolution which would enable this debate to take place.

Palmerston North is enjoying a period of economic expansion and strong employment growth. Business confidence is strong and, all in all, things are looking pretty rosy in the city at present. However, we cannot forget that in the last year the city has lost both Click Clack and Sunbeam. Sunbeam started life here in the 1970’s as Ralta but was forced to close its last manufacturing plant and go offshore for cheaper labour costs. This is a salutary reminder that, in a country dependent on trade, national and international influences have a major impact on the local situation. Vision Manawatu is now working well for the city and its latest reports on KPI’s are encouraging. However, while this council has had an economic development focus, an incoming council may not.