Friday could be a busy day at council

Nominations for the 2010 local government elections close this Friday 20 August. It also happens to be the last day to pay the first rates instalment before penalties are added. With many people choosing to pay their rates in person on the last day, council’s customer services is likely to be busy.

Nominations for the local government elections close at 12 noon sharp and often take some time to process. If nominees are paying by eftpos they will be lining up to see one of council’s 2 cashiers along with other residents.

Considering the low number of nominations we have had so far it is likely we could have a rush of nominees coming in on Friday says electoral officer Simon Jeune. “In the 2007 elections, 52 nominations were received, 33 for Mayor and Council, and 19 for the District Health Board. So far we have only had 31 nominations in total: 22 for Mayor and Council, 9 for Tairawhiti District Health Board.”

“Candidates are encouraged to get their nomination forms in as soon as possible. It would be a shame to see a keen candidate miss out because they are caught in the cashier queue waiting to pay their nomination fee. The easy answer is to come in as soon as possible.”

Confirmed nominations at 5pm Wednesday 18 August