27 July 2006
Chch City Council will not go ahead with service centre change
Christchurch City Council will not contract out financial transactions from its city suburban service centres and will
retain its current services.
The idea of using New Zealand Post to collect payments such as rates and dog registration fees and ceasing to offer that
facility at suburban service centres in the urban area is included in the long-term council community plan (LTCCP) which
came into effect on 1 July.
Councillors today considered advice about the council’s ability to change the implementation of projects in the LTCCP.
They were advised that, in this case, so long as they formally recorded their rationale, they could change the project.
In the report -- on the web at www.ccc.govt.nz/Council/proceedings/2006/
July/CnclCover27th/ServiceCentreTransactions.pdf -- councillors voted to support option 2 (item 3 on p5), to:
“Retain the full range of financial services at the current service centres, and not close the Hornby and Riccarton
sub-agencies, maintain the current level of service at the Tuam Street Civic Offices, maintain the current level of
service at the Banks Peninsula service centres and that general information services be maintained at service centres.
“The Council identifies that this decision is inconsistent with the proposal in the LTCCP to use NZ Post for financial
transaction services and to close the Hornby and Riccarton sub-agencies.
“The reasons for this inconsistent decision are that the LTCCP process led to a misunderstanding because of ambiguous
wording, after having considered sections 76-79 of the Local Government Act 2002 and the other matters contained in this
report to the Council. The Council does not intend to amend the LTCCP, in order to accommodate this decision.”
ENDS