Council to submit Head Start reforms proposal with Tauranga
Head Start decision
Rotorua Lakes Council will work with Tauranga City Council to jointly submit an eligible proposal under the government reforms Head Start pathway after being granted a deadline extension.
Head Start enabled councils to submit their own proposals for mergers for Government to consider with other councils going to an alternative government-led “backstop” process. The official deadline for Heads Start submissions was 9 August.
On 7 August Rotorua elected members considered a recommendation to submit a Head Start proposal with Tauranga that included Rotorua becoming a unitary on its own and Tauranga City merging with Western Bay of Plenty Council (against that council’s wishes). Rotorua elected members voted against this and also against not submitting a Head Start proposal.
After receiving an extension from Local Government Minister Simon Watts, Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell tabled an urgent report at today’s meeting of Council with three options to consider.
Council approved directing the chief executive to work with Tauranga City Council to submit an eligible Head Start proposal that includes a “western” unitary authority (a merger of Tauranga City and Western Bay) and a “central” (Rotorua) unitary.
It was explained that the proposals already written separately by each of the two (Tauranga and Rotorua) councils would remain unchanged but would be submitted together with a letter signed by both councils, noting that the two documents should be viewed as one proposal.
The Head Start pathway is part of the Simplifying Local Government programme which is aimed at reducing the number of councils across New Zealand, removing regional councils and moving to unitary authorities.
Read the report tabled by Mayor Tapsell at this link: Late Items Agenda of Council Meeting - Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Today’s meeting was livestreamed and you can go directly to the part of the meeting relating to the Head Start item via this link in the full recording
Also on the agenda
Voting system for 2028 local elections:
Council voted in favour of retaining the First Past the Post (FPP) system for the next local elections in 2028.
Go to p38 of the meeting agenda to view the report on this matter
Go directly to this part of the recording of the meeting via this link
Rotorua Rural Community Board update:
Council received an update from the rural board, including updates on spending of devolved funding allocated to the board by the Council.
View the board’s presentation at this link: PowerPoint Presentation
Go directly to this part of the recording of the meeting via this link
Financial update:
Council recorded a small operating surplus for the year ended 30 June 2026, elected members heard today.
Go to p47 of the meeting agenda to view the financial report and see the presentation at the following link: PowerPoint Presentation
Notice of motion:
Council passed a motion that former Lakeland Queen owner Terry Hammond be invited to speak to Council at a future meeting about matters relating to the Lakeland Queen and that he receive an apology for a previous refusal to receive a petition. This followed an Ombudsman opinion about the matter.
Go directly to this part of the recording of the meeting via this link
The full recording of today’s meeting can be viewed at this link on Council's YouTube channel
