Selwyn could be the next council to quit national advocacy body Local Government NZ (LGNZ), as it plans to debate its membership in January.

The district is home to outgoing LGNZ president Sam Broughton, who lost the Selwyn mayoralty in October after three terms in the job. Broughton leaves the LGNZ role this month.

First-term councillor Samuel Wilshire said Selwyn needed to see the worth of LGNZ membership and what it delivers for Selwyn.

“What do we gain from it?”

LGNZ is a membership body for councils in New Zealand, and Selwyn’s annual membership fee is $61,710.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council became the latest council to leave LGNZ in March.

Other councils that have quit LGNZ include: Christchurch City, Auckland, West Coast Regional and Kaipara District councils.

During the election campaign, Wilshire stated a desire to discuss leaving LGNZ “as they don’t represent affordability, value for money, or representation of our community’s wishes”.

Wilshire had also aired caution on the membership of the Canterbury Mayoral Forum and the potential spending strings attached to it.

Selwyn Mayor Lydia Gliddon said council memberships, including LGNZ, would be reviewed as part of the upcoming annual plan process.

“Councillors have asked good questions about the benefits these memberships deliver, and that’s exactly the right conversation to have when making funding decisions.

“We’ll be having a discussion early next year about how these forums work for us, what outcomes they achieve, and which elements of their proposed work programmes council should commit to through the annual plan.”

Gliddon won the mayoralty in a landslide victory on a promise to reduce the district's double-digit rate rises.

The need for the LGNZ discussion was highlighted last week, when some councillors were hesitant to agree to the Canterbury Local Authorities’ Triennial Agreement, the council’s membership of the Canterbury Mayoral Forum.

Gliddon said the agreement was a statutory requirement and the council had no obligation to agree to the Mayoral Forum’s proposed workplan and associated cost.

Selwyn pays $6,741 of the total regional forum levy of $63,000 to cover operational expenses of the forum.

The Local Government Act requires all local authorities within a regional council area to enter into a triennial agreement by March 1 following each triennial local government election.

Under proposed local government reforms, the country's 11 regional councils will be replaced by 11 combined territories boards comprising the region's mayors.

Regional functions will fall to the mayors, with the boards having two years, from when the legislation passes, to develop a regional reorganisation plan, which will need to be approved by Local Government Minister.

Gliddon said that suggests the Canterbury Mayoral Forum will be the platform for regional reorganisation, and Selwyn needs to be part of those discussions.

That didn’t stop a debate on what the council was signing up for.

Wilshire was cautious that the agreement “was like a deposit” on the work plan.

Cr Rhys Laraman also felt the agreement could lock the council into future decisions and costs.

Cr Denise Carrick also held concerns about the benefits of the forum, but with the proposal to abolish regional councils,she felt Gliddon needed to be at the table with the other mayors.

Cr Elizabeth Mundt wanted to see “where the money's been going”.

“A whole lot of hui and not a lot of doey. It would be nice to be see what the doey is.

“In this economic state, I think we we're wanting to see bang for buck.”

The councillors voted to ratify the Triennial Agreement, with Laraman voting against it.

Broughton has been approached for comment.

By Jonathan Leask