New Plymouth District

The New Plymouth District is one of the districts of New Zealand within Taranaki. It includes the city of New Plymouth and smaller towns such as Inglewood, Oakura and Waitara.

In 1989, as a part of New Zealand-wide reorganisation of local government, New Plymouth City Council was merged with North Taranaki District Council, Inglewood District Council, and Clifton County Council to form the New Plymouth District Council.

Population
The district's population at the census was ,. The New Plymouth District is the 10th largest district (out of 67) in New Zealand

Local Government
Every three years the Mayor, 14 councillors and 16 community board members are elected by the New Plymouth District’s enrolled voters. The full council, sub-committees and standing committees meet on a six-weekly cycle. The current serving Mayor of New Plymouth is Neil Holdom.

The Planning and Performance standing committees have delegated authority from the council to make final decisions on certain matters, and they make recommendations to the council on all others. The four community boards – Clifton, Waitara, Inglewood and Kaitake – as well as the subcommittees and working parties can make recommendations to the standing committees for them to consider.

The third standing committee, the Hearings Commission, is a quasi-judicial body that meets whenever a formal hearing is required – for instance, to hear submissions on a publicly notified resource consent application.

The Chief Executive and approximately 460 full-time equivalent staff provide advice and information to the elected members and the public, implement council decisions and manage the district’s day-to-day operations.

This includes everything from maintaining more than 280 parks and reserves, waste water management and issuing consents and permits, through to providing libraries and other recreational services and ensuring the district’s eateries meet health standards.

New Plymouth District Council's annual operating revenue for 2013/2014 is $167.18 million.

Community boards
Waitara Community Board (four members): Trevor Dodunski, Andrew Larsen, Jonathan Marshall, Joe Rauner. Clifton Community Board (four members): Ken Bedford, Warren Petersen, Pam Street and John McLean. Inglewood Community Board (four members): Jenny Bunn, Karen Moratti, Kevin John Rowan, Phillip Rowe. Kaitake Community Board (four members): Graham Chard, Paul Coxhead, Doug Hislop, Mike Pillette.