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Upper Hutt
Some Upper Hutt city councillors say ratepayers deserve to know more about how the council runs and plan more openness.
UPPER HUTT City Council's new councillors are promising better public relations and more public consultation during the next three years.
Just days into the new term, councillors Wayne Guppy, Heather Newell, Chris Tchernegovski and Nick Thomas were already talking of sweeping changes to the way the council operated in terms of consultation.
Cr Guppy said the council had operated with a "closed shop" mentality for too long.
"Some of the things that have gone on in the past, people have not known about. Local government probably affects people more than central government," he said.
"I don't believe council have some God-given right to make decisions that affect 38,000 people. We can get the information but that information needs to be given to the people so they can decide what's right."
The next three years will...