Rodney District Council seeks public input on a number of important issues, which affect a wide variety of people across the district. To make the best possible decisions, the Council relies on participation and feedback from its residents and rate payers.
You can give Council your input by:
- Making submissions and offering petitions
- Contacting individual Councillors directly
- Council, Committee and Resource Consent Hearings Panel Meetings
At Meetings
Council, Committee and Resource Consent Hearings Panel Meetings, although open to the public are quite formal, so please understand and follow these basic rules:
- When you arrive, you should sit in the area reserved for members of the public.
- If you are speaking at the meeting, you should introduce yourself to the Committee Advisor, who will show you where to sit when it is your time to address the meeting.
- If you have brought along written material, please give it to the Advisor to distribute.
- At the start of the meeting the Chair will run through some housekeeping matters and will then move on to public participation.
Speaking:
- When it is your turn to speak the Chair will introduce you formally to the Councillors and invite you to move to the place where you can speak.
- The Chair will also advise you of how long you have to speak. You will be timed. Be careful to use your minutes wisely.
- It is important not to interrupt Councillors when they are speaking and not to speak until requested by the Chair.
- The Chair may terminate your statement if it is disrespectful or offensive.
- When you have finished speaking, the Councillors may want to ask you a few questions so that they can better understand your position.
Contacting Councillors
The elected Council is made up of the Mayor and 12 Councillors divided between four different wards (geographical areas), and each ward has its own elected councillor representative.
Rodney District Council's elected representatives have many roles, one of which is to act as an advocate for the community to bring individual and community issues and concerns to the Council.
You can contact the Mayor and Councillors directly in order to make your voice heard. For contact details and a list of Councillors, please click here.
Submissions and Petitions
Submissions:
From time to time, the Council asks for submissions from the public on specific issues. A submission is a statement which explains your opinion to the Council. Submissions are written statements, but you may also be invited to speak in support of your submission at a hearing.
The Council asks for submissions in three main areas:
- General Council decisions (including policies, strategies, bylaws and Council Plans)
- Notified District Plan Changes
- Notified Resource Consents.
For information on how to make a submission, please click here. For a list of current consultations that you can make a submission on, please click here.
Petitions:
Any person or organisation may present a petition about any matter within the Council's jurisdiction to the full Council or to any of its committees. Your petition must comprise fewer than 500 words and its purpose, intent and requested action must be clearly stated.
Once your petition is ready to present to the Council, contact Democracy Services. A Committee Advisor will inform you of the most appropriate meeting to present the petition to and discuss other relevant matters such as the time you will be given to speak at the meeting.