5.55PM: The future of the Auckland glbt community's primary link with the city's governing politicians will be up for grabs this Thursday night when the conservative-dominated Auckland City Council will consider whether the city's community boards should remain as part of the council's interface with its residents. Last month council officers, in a plan for the future governance of the city, recommended scrapping the community boards which allow access by individual residents and small community groups to decision making processes and funding. Several inner city community boards encompass parts of Auckland with a high proportion of glbt residents. Those boards have in recent years marked up a string of pro-glbt initiatives, including the Council's first ever hosting of a glbt event - to mark 20 years of Law Reform, the inclusion of the glbt community in consultations for the city's Annual Plan, and support for funding a scoping project currently underway for a possible glbt community centre. Community board members are elected as part of local body elections. The council officers recommended that the boards be replaced by "advocates" selected by the council officers. A spokesperson for the four glbt members of three inner-city community boards hopes bi-lateral support for retaining the community boards is sufficient for the community boards to be retained.