Councillors have finalised the dates and process for reviewing the Organisational Review by Martin Jenkins.

The report was commissioned in 2019 and was due to be submitted to council in May. Due to COVID-19, the report was delayed to ensure council focused on responding to the pandemic, and to ensure councillors could discuss the report in person when meeting restrictions were lifted.

Councillors have workshopped the release process and taken legal advice to ensure they meet their obligations as the employer of the chief executive under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

The following timetable has been proposed for the release of the report, and this will be formally approved at the next council meeting on 11 June.

• 15 June 2020 - report released by Martin Jenkins
• 19 June 2020 - key findings briefing by Martin Jenkins and report released to the Mayor, councillors, and chief executive
• 23 June 2020 – detailed briefing by Martin Jenkins to the mayor, councillors iwi, community board chairs, and the chief executive
• 29 June 2020 - report released to the public

Mayor Guru says we want to ensure there is clarity around the release of this report given the significant interest from our community. We also want to make sure that as an employer we have provided an opportunity for the chief executive to view and or respond to the findings before it is released to the public.

The report will be made available by Martin Jenkins to lawyers Simpson Grierson so that any legal issues can be brought to the attention of councillors at the key findings briefing.

We need to make it crystal clear that once the report is released to the lawyers acting for councillors (Simpson Grierson), there will be no opportunity for the report to be altered. This is purely a process that ensures that all affected parties are treated fairly, legal advice can be received, and safeguards our obligations as a good employer says Mayor Guru.

The independent organisational review will report on:

• The internal culture of the staff organisation, including staff satisfaction and turnover;
• The relationship and interface between governance and the staff organisation;
• The relationships with key stakeholders and the interface between the staff organisation and ratepayers;
• The effective delivery of the Open for Business programme; and
• The capacity and capability of the staff organisation to deliver the Council’s objectives in a cost effective and efficient manner.

The new timeframe and process is supported by Councillor McCann who previously moved a resolution to ensure the report was released within 30 days, and by Councillor Cootes who was instrumental in setting up the review.

The refined process ensures that the Chief Executive, senior leadership team and councillors can be fully briefed and have time to consider the implications of the report in a framework that meets our legal obligations while providing transparency says Mayor Gurunathan. “I will ensure the process also recognises protocols under our treaty partnership”.

The report will be released to the public on 29 June.

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