Upholding his pledge to engage closely with the community, recently elected Masterton Mayor Gary Caffell will soon hold the first of a series of open public forums.
Caffell intends to hold regular meetings with members of the community at the Masterton District Council [MDC] offices in Queen St. He hopes that, by making himself accessible in this way, people will be encouraged to bring the full range of council-related problems and issues to him direct.
The style of the meetings will be informal one-on-one sessions with the mayor on a drop-in basis.
The first of these meetings is on Thursday 26th January from 1pm. They’ll then be held every Thursday after that.
“It’s an opportunity to tell us about anything they have an issue with,” Caffell said.
“There are a lot of people who say they find it a bit intimidating to come into council offices and ask to see the mayor.
“I want them to come in and talk about anything. They can even tell us how great we are if they like,” he laughed.
Caffell hopes the council offices where the sessions will be held are accessible enough to encourage people to drop in for a chat. He also hopes other councillors will attend the meetings.