‘Ghost’ submissions not right - city mayor
None of your business, Joe Bloggs and Neil Armstrong shared their thoughts with Hamilton City Council in 2017.
But should people using pseudonyms be allowed to have a say on big decisions?
That’s the question Mayor Andrew King put to city councillors on Tuesday as they prepared to plan the city’s next decade. With a rate increase of up to 16.5 per cent mooted, council shouldn’t struggle for feedback on its draft longterm plan. But King said it’s scary that anonymous submissions are part of big decisions for the city, and submissions need to have names attached.
Council would accept a submission if it were from ‘‘Mickey Mouse’’, wouldn’t it, he asked.
‘‘If you’re going to ... say this is what I stand for, but you’re not prepared to say who you are, you become a ghost. If you can’t verify who somebody is, where’s the justice in that?’’
Submissions to central government are verified against the electoral roll, he said, and it would be easy for council to do that. In May, councillors looked at 449 submissions made on their 2017/18 Annual Plan.
Most people gave a full name or part of their name and some stated an organisation which they represented - but several didn’t. Along with None of your business and friends, there were names like Mrs Mac, Prefer not to say, blekkja, Mr N/A, and a few submissions from Anonymous.
For the long-term plan, council wants as much feedback as possible from a cross-section of residents, council’s strategy programme manager Julie Clausen told councillors. The last long-term plan attracted 726 submissions - a name was required for online submissions - and staff wanted to get more this time around.
Council can make a name compulsory for online submissions but can’t do much about paper ones, Clausen continued. It tends to put people off, she said, and staff may need to remove the names before the documents go online - something they already do for addresses and contact details.
Staff check for templated responses and whether multiple submissions have come from a single IP address. Weighing up submissions isn’t just about numbers, Cr Paula Southgate said - it’s about the quality of ideas put forward and expertise.
For example, a submission from an economic expert who understood central city redevelopment would be given more weight on a CBD topic.
Verification was the most important part for Cr Mark Bunting, who said council could leave itself open to trolling. If staff had checked a submission was valid, Bunting said he didn’t need to see the name.
Cr Macpherson said nameless submissions would get short shrift in his mind.
Council staff will come back to councillors with ideas on the matter in February.