Tauranga City Council elected members today decided to run a city-wide referendum to ask the community if they support investment in a museum alongside the At Large by-election.
The decision to hold a referendum was driven by elected members who want to get a picture of community perspectives on a museum.
Following the loss of Councillor Gail McIntosh, there is now a by-election process taking place to fill the vacancy for an At Large Councillor. Elected members would like to run a referendum on the museum as part of this process.
Tauranga City Council Mayor, Greg Brownless said that referendums are a great tool to enable democratic local decision-making and action.
“We know that there is a lot of interest in a proposal for a museum, and this is one way to be able to get a picture of what the community wants as we go into the Long Term Plan 2018–2028 investment decision,” he said.
The non-binding referendum would seek to understand support for museum investment, and would be separate to the Long Term Plan 2018-2028 consultation taking place in 16 March – 16 April.
“With a public referendum on museum investment, as well as our thorough consultation on the museum through the Long Term Plan, we will have the confidence to make the right investment decision for our community,” said Mayor Brownless.
The timing of the referendum will be the same as the by-election. Papers will be received and voting will be open from 9 April until 12 noon on 1 May.
Further details about the process for the referendum will be shared shortly.