Submitters get second shot at council questions
Submitters will now get a mass email after tick-in-the-box confusion over a Hamilton City Council questionnaire.
A request to tick projects council should not do confused some respondents in the long-term plan consultation.
Only a handful have contacted council to make a correction so far, but the organisation will now email submitters to check they got it right.
The idea was put forward on Thursday, at Councillor Paula Southgate’s suggestion, and ended in a 5-5 hung vote.
Mayor Andrew King, who originally voted against the idea, used his casting vote to make it happen.
‘‘There’s very strong feeling around this table and I think the right thing to do here is to use my casting vote to go with sending it back out to ask those who have email addresses.’’
People would have to be reversing their ticks, he said, not cherry-picking after changing their mind.
Council was in a robust position even without sending out the email, city solicitor Lachlan Muldowney had told councillors.
‘‘This is not a numbers game. That’s part of it, but the consultation is qualitative.’’
Councillors needed to pick up themes and broad community views, and also had upcoming hearings at which submitters will speak.
Media and social media had drawn attention to confusion around the question, he said, and he was satisfied with the staff response.
The news articles hadn’t prompted a large group of people to contact council, chief executive Richard Briggs said.
But emailing submitters and giving them a chance to correct shows goodwill, Southgate said
Staff had been caught up in the political crosshairs, Deputy Mayor Martin Gallagher said, and he supported checking with submitters.
Cr Dave Macpherson called the move overkill in the extreme and Cr Garry Mallett said it risked creating more confusion than there was already.
In the initial hung vote, King and Crs Ryan Hamilton, Dave Macpherson, Garry Mallett, and Leo Tooman were against the move.
Councillors Siggi Henry and Angela O’Leary had left to attend a function at Waikato Museum, and Cr Geoff Taylor was absent.