Local Council

A fresh call by the Ombudsman for council workshops to be open to the public by default has received a cautious response on the West Coast.

Auckland Council has today voted to reject Māori seats for the city.

Tickets on the Greater Christchurch Metro Network will be paid by debit card or devices to make it safer for drivers and passengers.

Kāpiti Coast residents may see a rates hike as Quotable Value sends out its revaluation letters to property owners.

Wellington councillors have agreed to pour more money into repairing the Town Hall to meet the potential final refurbishment cost of around $330 million.

The West Coast Regional Council says an external review into the first instalment of rates bills has found that about half of them were incorrectly charged.

Whanganui is the last council in the Manawatū-Whanganui region to establish Māori wards.

Ngāti Rārua is calling on the Tasman District Council to accelerate essential repairs to the Motueka Wastewater treatment plant, almost a month after problems were detected.

Its new chief executive says the council cannot finalise its annual report until a forensic audit of its Project Management Office is completed.

Councils have been reprimanded for holding secret workshops behind closed doors too often and for invalid reasons such as allowing councillors a "safe space" to ask "silly questions".

The sooner that controversial construction starts on Wellington's Thorndon Quay the better it is for cyclists and public transport, cycling advocates says.

Nine homeless people in Rotorua have rejected offers of help - and could face being trespassed from the city's reserves.

Nelson City Council has approved half a million dollars of repair work for Stoke Library but the acting mayor describes the funds as a just another "band-aid" for the city's crumbling libraries.