Councillors and staff
Friday will not become the new Wednesday at Waipā District Council this side of Christmas.
Jo Gread
The council held its first two meetings of the triennium on a Friday, and councillors voting at the second to follow governance manager Jo Gread’s recommendation to hold four December meetings on a Wednesday.
Good Local Media editor Roy Pilott raised concerns Cambridge News and Te Awamutu News readers would have to wait eight days to read of council decisions in January when the council moved committee and full council meetings from Tuesdays to Wednesdays.
At the last Friday meeting councillors agreed to hold the Strategic Planning and Policy Committee on Wednesday, December 3, the Finance and Corporate Committee and Service Delivery Committee on Wednesday, December 10, and a full council meeting on Wednesday, December 17.
Roy Pilott
They also agreed to hold the Risk and Assurance Committee on Monday, December 15.
Cambridge ward councillor Roger Gordon asked whether there would be further discussion around the days and frequency of meetings for 2026 as a separate agenda item
Gread said it would be discussed at the December council meeting.
Gordon told The News he was not supportive of the move from Tuesdays to Wednesdays.
“I believe we should treat the newspaper as a partner in our communications, rather than a competitor,” the third-term councillor said.
Roger Gordon
“This term, for instance, we have had a couple of meetings on a Friday. I think that gives quite a good period of time for questions to be asked by councillors and answers to be circulated by staff.”
Gordon said many of his constituents were not technologically savvy, did not rely on websites for information and relied on print media for their information.
Gordon said he would go to December 17 council full meeting with an open mind.
Cambridge mayor Mike Pettit previously told The News Good Local Media’s deadlines were not front of mind when the decision was made in January to move to Wednesdays.
Mike Pettit in a Waipa District Council meeting
