Thursday 20 December, 2012

Review Of Operations - QLDC And Organisations

Queenstown Lakes District Council Mayor Vanessa van Uden confirmed today there will be a comprehensive operations review involving three Council organisations early in the New Year.

Continued, on-going rapid growth in the District and recent legislative changes made the review essential, she said.

“Over the next 15 years both the District’s average daily population (35,000) and peak daily population (68,000) are predicted to more than double. This rapid growth is almost unparalleled anywhere else in New Zealand,” Mayor van Uden said.

QLDC had a responsibility to ensure the organisation would be able to continue to provide good quality local infrastructure; community services; and regulatory functions at the least possible cost to households and businesses, she said.

The Mayor added that recent legislative changes to the Local Government Act made the review more pressing.

“The purpose of local government, and the scope of core services have been fundamentally changed, and we need to ensure that our current activities match up to those expected of us under the new legislation,” Mayor van Uden said.

She said that the review, which would focus on improving the cost-effectiveness and quality of Council operations, had been a clear expectation for incoming QLDC Chief Executive Adam Feeley.

Mayor van Uden also announced that the organisational review would extend to all of the functions of Council’s regulatory arm, Lakes Environmental and the corporate section of Lakes Leisure.

“The Council recognises that potential savings and improvements from an organisational review of QLDC can be best achieved by taking a broader view of Council activities, including those of Lakes Environmental and parts of Lakes Leisure,” she said.

Accordingly one team would review the three entities and provide an overarching report as to how Council services could be best delivered.

“Lakes Environmental has now been operational for five years, and it is timely to review its operational processes and the ongoing suitability (in terms of cost, efficiency and effectiveness) of the Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) model and any alternative models for service delivery,” Mayor van Uden said.

The corporate part of Lakes Leisure would be reviewed to consider potential efficiencies.

The Mayor said as the sole shareholder of Lakes Environmental and Lakes Leisure, QLDC had advised the directors of both CCOs and requested support for the review.

The review would be chaired by Peter Winder, formerly Chief Executive of both Local Government NZ and the Auckland Regional Council.

“This a huge but in my view very necessary task that involves the review of not just structure but roles within the structure. Given that the combined staff, number over 200 the review requires a strong support team,” Mr Feeley said.

The review would commence on 27 January 2013. Staff of the organisations had been advised this morning.

“This review has been foreshadowed for some time, it should come as no surprise to staff or the community,” Mayor van Uden said.

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The draft terms of reference can be found at QLDC Organisational Review Draft

ENDS

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