Raglan’s main street was once repaved twice and repainted three times within a matter of months as different projects rolled out without anyone holding the full local picture.
Community development advocate Tony Mayow says a properly funded Community Council based in Raglan, backed by dedicated staff or a town manager, could help stop that kind of expensive mistake.
His message to people making submissions on the Government’s council merger programme is simple: don’t just ask who Waikato District should merge with. Ask what power Whāingaroa would be left with afterwards.
“If you don’t give it [local body or community council] the powers, then all you’re doing is recreating the system we’ve got now in some other strange form,” he said.
Tony has lived through two major rounds of local government reform and previously worked for Waitakere City Council before moving into community and not-for-profit roles.
Speaking on Raglan Community Radio, he argued for a two-level model: a larger authority to handle major infrastructure and regional planning, with properly resourced community councils making decisions closer to home.
What should stay in Raglan?
Tony said a Whāingaroa community council could control local parks, sports fields, community facilities, town-centre projects, public spaces and suitable local contracts.
It could also play a much stronger role in deciding how Raglan grows and what infrastructure comes with that growth.
At present, the Raglan Community Board has limited delegated powers, almost no money of its own and no ability to direct council staff. Its influence often depends on persuasion and the strength of its relationships with councillors and staff.
Tony said any new local body needed to be more than the same system with a new label.
It should have:
- real decision-making powers
- a guaranteed budget
- dedicated staff
- control over appropriate local services and facilities
- a formal voice that the larger authority could not simply ignore.
“I would be going for the most local model possible,” he said.
A town manager or local staff team could keep track of work across Whāingaroa, coordinate roadworks and public-space projects and help make sure suitable contracts were offered at a scale local businesses could compete for.
We should retain our own Councillor, too. Our current Councillor, Lisa Thomson, is both our political link with the District Council, and a central figure for all the major local organisations and projects, connecting them up and brokering relationships and resources at both levels. That role will always be critical.
Staff could remain employed by the larger council while still being directed locally.
What should be handled regionally?
Tony said some jobs clearly needed a wider view.
Water infrastructure, major roads, environmental management and regional growth planning would be better managed by the larger authority.
That body could also provide specialist staff, technical expertise and funding to local councils.
But Tony said the starting point should be to keep decisions local wherever practical, rather than centralising everything first and handing a few responsibilities back later.
“The biggest idea in this is actually about relationships,” he said.
“It’s not about having the perfect models written, it’s about how you actually work together.”
Who gets to decide how Raglan grows?
Tony said Raglan’s future growth should not be decided solely from a distant regional office.
The town has sought more comprehensive planning for years, while development and population pressures continue to build.
He warned that local priorities could be easier to overlook if Raglan lost its current community board and gained no stronger replacement.
“You cannot have a growth model that’s imposed regionally, or God forbid, nationally that says Raglan, you will grow, but you won’t get any more resource.”
Power without money means little
Tony said local decision-making would be meaningless without the money and staff needed to carry it out.
He also warned that redrawing council boundaries would not solve the deeper funding problems facing local government.
Councils remain heavily dependent on property rates while central government continues to add responsibilities without always providing the money to meet them.
Tony backed recommendations from the 2023 Review into the Future for Local Government, including returning GST collected on rates and requiring central government to pay rates on its own properties.
“We’re not changing the funding of local government, we’re not changing the powers of local government, we’re not changing the relationship between central and local government to make it a more cooperative one,” he said.
“Unless you introduce those solutions, then nothing’s actually going to change.”
What are councils actually for?
Tony said submissions should not stop at boundaries, budgets and governance structures. They should also ask what local government is meant to achieve.
“My start point is always the wellbeings,” he said.
He wants social, environmental, cultural and economic wellbeing restored as core purposes of local government.
That would give councils a broader role than simply maintaining roads, collecting rubbish and enforcing regulations. It also gives a guide to how Councils need to work, emphasising cooperation, partnerships and delegation with a clear eyed focus on effective outcomes rather than narrow ‘efficiency’.
Tony said people were more likely to vote, participate and trust their council when they believed they could influence decisions and see practical results in their own community.
Bigger is not always better
Tony warned against assuming that a larger council would automatically be cheaper, smarter or more responsive.
A centralised system might look simpler from central government’s perspective, with fewer mayors and councils to deal with, while losing local knowledge and making decision-makers harder for communities to reach.
“Bigger is not necessarily better – in fact it very seldom is better.”
He did not offer a firm view on which council Waikato District should merge with.
For Tony, the more important question was what powers communities retained, regardless of where the new boundaries were drawn.
What could you ask for?
Based on Tony’s recommendations, submitters could ask Waikato District Council to support:
A strong local body for Whāingaroa that:
- has binding powers over appropriate local decisions
- receives a guaranteed budget and dedicated staff
- controls local parks, facilities, town-centre projects and suitable contracts
- has a formal role in growth and town planning
- cannot be ignored by the larger authority.
A wider council that:
- manages major infrastructure and regional planning
- provides specialist support and funding to local bodies
- broadens council funding beyond property rates
- restores social, environmental, cultural and economic wellbeing as core purposes.
A submission could say:
Whatever merger model is pursued, I support retaining a distinct local governing body for Whāingaroa with guaranteed funding, dedicated staff and binding delegated powers over appropriate local matters. Major infrastructure and services requiring regional coordination should sit with the larger authority, but decisions about local facilities and services, public spaces, community development and growth planning should remain as close to the community as practical.
Tony said the real test of reform was not whether the map looked simpler, but whether communities gained more control over the decisions shaping their lives.
Without local power, money and staff, he believes Raglan could end up with a more distant council and even less say over its future.