The Independent Assessment Board which oversees the local government excellence programme CouncilMARK™ has released today the reports of council assessments and ratings for Environment Canterbury and Upper Hutt City Council.

IAB Chair Toby Stevenson says CouncilMARK™ reports measure indicators across leadership, finance, asset management, service delivery and community engagement. All reports and more information on CouncilMARK™ can be found here.

CouncilMARK™ was launched in August 2016 with 18 councils signed up for the inaugural year and these reports are the twentieth and twenty-first reports to be released.

Mr Stevenson says the reports are designed to give councils and communities an informed and independent view on how they are carrying out their roles, including on where they are excelling and areas for improvement.

“The reports have been completed by independent assessors under the direction of the board, and offer an independent assessment of each council’s performance in key areas,” Mr Stevenson says. “Reports provide valuable information to councils and communities. Measuring performance means both can assess how to better deliver ongoing and increased value to communities.”

Mr Stevenson says the focus is now on the programme’s third year and participation of all remaining councils.

“CouncilMARK™ has been designed to improve the public's knowledge of the work councils are doing in their communities and to support individual councils to further improve the service and value they provide to all New Zealanders,” he says.

“The more councils that embark on this process, the greater its impact will be for the whole sector and New Zealand as a whole. I urge all councils to consider getting involved.”

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