The Waikanae Community Board have held their first meeting, appointing James Westbury as Chair and Jill Griggs as Deputy Chair.
Community Boards — vital for local democracy
The KCDC says: ‘ Community Boards are the grassroots for local democracy where people in each of our towns and villages can take their concerns or seek assistance.
‘We have four Community Boards in Kapiti: Ōtaki, Paraparaumu/Raumati, Waikanae and Paekākāriki.
‘The Boards are elected every three years, just like the Council, and a Board representative can sit at Council meetings and contribute to the debate.
‘This helps ensure that looking after the interests of the whole district, Council also takes account of what each local community wants.
Powers on local issues
‘A Board’s role is mainly advocacy but it also has powers to make some decisions about issues within its boundaries.
‘Boards make submissions to Council and other statutory agencies. They control local funds for making grants to individuals and groups for community purposes.’
Actually, the only decision making powers the boards have at present apart from grants is the naming of new streets, usually from a choice of three that the developer comes up with. That hopefully will change in the next year with several more delegations.