Local Government Reform update
Elected members will decide this week whether Rotorua Lakes Council will submit a merger proposal under the local government reforms “Head Start” pathway.
Part of the Simplifying Local Government reforms programme, Head Start enables councils to submit their own proposals for mergers for Government to consider.
The Simplifying Local Government programme is aimed at reducing the number of councils across New Zealand and moving to unitary authorities.
To help with decision-making Rotorua Lakes Council has held two rounds of community engagement to seek feedback about merger preferences and criteria being used to assess the options being considered.
In June following early community engagement, Council agreed to continue assessing six merger options and held a second round of feedback asking the community for their views on specific options and the criteria used to assess them.
Over 300 people completed a survey in the first engagement round and over 700 completed a new survey in the second round. The survey results and other feedback received will help Council in its decision-making this Wednesday (29 July 2026).
Head Start proposals are high level and strategic only. Further detailed design, engagement, financial analysis, legislative development and formal consultation would be required if a proposal is submitted and is accepted in principle by Cabinet.
You can read the full report relating to this on Council’s website: Late Items Agenda of Council Meeting - Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Also on the agenda
There are a number of other matters on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting. You can see the reports here on Council’s website: Agenda of Council Meeting - Wednesday, 29 July 2026.
Other related documents are here: Attachments of Council Meeting - Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Wednesday’s meeting is being held in the Council Chamber, starting at 9.30am, and is open to the public to attend.
The meeting will also be livestreamed and can be watched live or later via the Rotorua Lakes Council YouTube channel.
