Waipā District Council (pictured) has voted to increase its number of councillors from 12 to 13.
The Waipā District Council voted on Tuesday to increase the number of councillors around the table from 12 to 13, with another representative for Cambridge joining the ranks at the local body elections next year.
The Cambridge Community Board is also set for a boost, going from having five members to six after the elections. Legally, all councils in New Zealand must review their make-up every six years to ensure representation is fair and effective. By law, councillors must represent the same number of people, plus or minus 10 per cent. With the addition of one more elected member for Cambridge, Waipā councillors would represent between 3,670 and 4,485 people each.
Councillor Vern Wilson was the only councillor to vote against the proposition. Councillor Susan O’Regan noted that the legislation presents elected members with a conflict of interest and asked that this issue be raised, on behalf of Waipā District Council, with Local Government New Zealand.
