An Ashburton District Council public survey on local government reform doesn't directly ask residents what amalgamation options they might support.

The Government has given councils an ultimatum to produce amalgamation proposals by August 9, or risk having one imposed on them.

Ashburton is surrounded by potential amalgamation partners and options, but council’s survey doesn’t specifically ask for a preferred option.

The four-question survey asks residents what they value from local government, but not which structure or council arrangement they would prefer.

Ashburton Mayor Liz Mcillan said the council didn’t want to limit the discussion to a few options when the council still has “more questions than answers”.

McMillan was among the local government leaders attending the Local Government NZ rural and provincial sector meeting in Wellington last week that included a session with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).

“I think we all got a bit of clarity on what Head Start and backstop mean but there's still a lot of questions."

“A lot of councils aren’t completely sure what it all means for them.

“If you're ready to go, then Head Start is a good option to use but there isn't a lot of clarity around what backstop means just yet.

“The thing that has tripped a lot of councils up was the messaging around backstop saying if you don't come up with something, they will.”

Under the the Head Start policy, councils have three months to come up with ideas for amalgamation.

If a council fails to put forward a plan, the Government will implement a 'backstop process', but officials haven't released the full details of what this means.

When announcing the policy, Local Government Minister Simon Watts said the process involved a standardised approach, including transitional governance arrangements while changes are put in place.

Ashburton's survey is a start to engaging with its community in the tight-90-day window to submit a proposal.

The first question asks if people support the proposal to combine district and regional councils into unitary authorities.

Questions two and three are similar, asking people to rank their priorities for “what matters most to you about how your community is represented and how decisions are made in local government” and “if local government structures change in the future, what is your biggest priority for Ashburton District”.

The fourth question is an open comments box where McMillan said the community can provide thoughts on and propose amalgamation options.

The survey has been released before the council’s workshop on the government proposal on Wednesday [May 20], that McMillan said will be an information session with DIA staff.

“I don't think we'll be firming up any direction on Wednesday.”

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE

Selwyn Mayor Lydia Gliddon said her council is weighing up its options for a similar survey, but may wait until they have a direction to take the community to see they agree where its pointing.

“We’re still working through what any survey or short-form engagement with residents might look like, including what questions will be most useful to ask.

“This is complex work, and we want to make sure any feedback we seek is meaningful and helps inform the decisions ahead.

“In the meantime, our focus remains on working through the detail of the Government’s proposals alongside other Canterbury councils, so we can clearly set out the options for our community and involve them in that conversation in a practical and informed way.”

By Jonathan Leask