Bethlehem resident Kim Williams was the first to put in her nomination to stand as a Otumoetai Pyes Pa ward candidate in the upcoming Tauranga City Council by-election despite the uncertainty around whether it would be held or not.

'I'm just going ahead as if it's business as usual,” says Kim, who ran as an ‘At Large' candidate in the 2019 local elections.

Former Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless wants Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta to announce whether the elected members will be replaced with a commission.

'I would respectfully like to ask the Minister and officials to consider making their decision promptly so that all those people who want to stand can be treated fairly in the by-election process,” says Brownless.

'At the moment it's just very difficult for people to know and they're being put off because of this uncertainty.

'It would be really good if the council can respond to the minister quickly and then in turn, the minister can make a decision, and then we'll know where we stand before December 22.”

Voting for the by-election runs from January 26 to February 17.

'Under the Act the election continues until the minister appoints commissioners,” says electoral officer Warwick Lampp.

'If commissioners aren't appointed until February then our election continues on its normal course until that point.”

The by-election will cost Tauranga ratepayers $285,000. The printing and postage alone will cost $160,000 which would be saved if the minister made a final announcement before January 5, which is when voting papers get printed. This is highly unlikely, with the announcement not expected to be made until late January or early February.

'It's entirely feasible that voting packs could be posted out in January and the commissioner is appointed before voting closes on February 17 which means that we wouldn't count the votes,” says Lampp.

To add to possible scenarios, if another councillor resigns before voting starts, then the current by-election process stops and a new election is restarted with the opening of nominations.

'It's a lot of money not just for the by-election, but for people who might be considering putting their energy and efforts into standing,” says Brownless.

'For that reason, both the community and those considering standing deserve certainty.

'It's an uncertain time and whatever the decision is, we need to know in fairness to the ratepayers and candidates, because ratepayers will be picking up the bill for this.”