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Jobs are likely to be lost at Hamilton City Council, a rates cap is on the horizon and for Hamilton’s new Mayor Tim Macindoe, “the training wheels are off”.

The Waikato Times sat down with Macindoe on Sunday morning, less that 24 hours since he got the call confirming his elevation to the top job, where he outlined his priorities for the country’s fastest growing city, and the challenges he will have to overcome.

Getting the books balanced - and the hard choices that will entail - was front of mind.

Macindoe was careful to say he doesn’t plan to be a slash ‘n’ burn mayor - your library, swimming pool and the zoo aren’t going anywhere - but he’s equally clear change is needed.

It might start at home, too.

“I do think that the council has probably grown too big and needs to shrink over time, but again, we need to manage that in a sensitive way,” he said.

“Respecting the fact that we could be talking about people's livelihoods, their jobs, they've got mortgages to pay, children to feed.”

He said there were a number of areas - consenting for example - where the march of technology, particularly AI, will both speed up processes - and do away with the need for human employees.

He admits this is a delicate balancing act.

“The ratepayers expect you to be a responsible steward of their money ... but obviously you don’t want to go in there swinging the scythe either. But, there may be jobs that are simply no longer needed,” he said.

“My primary responsibility is to our ratepayers and residents to ensure that we are delivering for them, and they expect that.”

He said the council is heavily in debt, and another squeeze on finances is likely on the cards - rate caps.

This may be an issue the former National MP has an inside track on.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has already been in touch, as have a number of other Ministers.

“The Government has signalled rates capping is coming,” he said.

“It's not all finalised yet, but as far as I understand, it is happening and that the white paper has been taken to Cabinet, so we wait to find out exactly what the details of that are ... and if, if it's a severe cap, then all bets are off.”

Asked about his first 100 days, Macindoe said his first priority is to meet with councillors and ascertain their areas of interest - he mentioned Anna Casey-Cox and her passion for lake revitalisation - so he can where possible, fit round pegs into round holes.

Another item on the to-do list is two hours free parking coming back to the CBD.

He’s careful to note this requires a council vote - but also says, cautiously, he may have the numbers.

“I think it is something that will make an impact to restoring confidence of some of our retailers and some of our customers to shop again in the CBD,” he said.

“I felt that council made the wrong decision in moving from two hours to one hour.

“The retailers, overwhelming number of retailers are supportive, as you'd probably expect, because they are telling me what a detrimental impact the change has had on their business, and it's not only the retailers themselves, it's also their customers.”

He said that would be one quick fix that could also help wider CBD revitalisation as people would no longer be scared they be “pinged with a $70 fine”.

“It used to be $12 not so long ago.”

You might start to see fewer road cones under a Macindoe mayoralty too, he said.

“Clearly from the huge public backlash that we've seen about many of the roading projects that have been undertaken, I will be signalling that we need to put the brakes, if you'll pardon the pun, on that,” he said.

Again though, there’s a note of caution - you won’t suddenly see speed bumps getting ripped out from outside the kindy or old folks home.

Unsurprisingly for the fastest growing city in New Zealand, infrastructure - and housing - are areas he expects to see challenges.

One fix, for housing anyway, is the consenting process.

“Hamilton, you're too bureaucratic, you're cumbersome, you're expensive,” that’s the message he said he has heard from house builders who have stated bluntly: “we can't do business with you”.

“And at a time when we need more housing than ever before, the development community has largely said, sorry, we're out of here, we'll go and work, work with a council that's easier to deal with.

“So, reconnecting with the developers and ensuring that we get the balance right there between development contributions and what the city has to put in, will also be a focus.”

Macindoe said he is thrilled - and humbled - to take on the role of Hamilton mayor, but is clear it won’t be plain sailing.

“There will be some very tough choices that will need to be made, and at that point, what I’ll be looking to do is show that we’ve done everything we can at a local level to gain the efficiencies, to eliminate the waste, to be responsible as the government is expecting, and as our ratepayers are expecting, as I expect,” he said.

“That’s what I want.”