NEWSLETTER ISSUE 23 • AUGUST 2011

• New SOLGM Chief Executive • Legal Compliance Programme • 2011 SOLGM Annual Conference - Register • Housing Affordability Report Online Now • SOLGM New Members • Five Receive Travel Grants to SOLGM • Executive Committee - Associate Member Annual Conference Representative • Local Government Excellence Awards • SOLGM OPUS Business School • Nominations for Long Service Certificates • Building Leaders for the Sector • New Webinar Series • What’s on at the SOLGM OPUS Business • Three SOLGM Members Heading to USA School • More Dollars and Sense • 2011 Community Plan Conference

New SOLGM Chief Executive It is with pleasure that on behalf of the SOLGM Executive Committee, I announce that Karen Thomas has been appointed as Chief Executive of the Society. Karen has extensive leadership experience and a reputation for excelling at the broader advocacy level. For the past six years Karen has been Chief Executive of the Royal College of General Practitioners. During her time there, the revenue of the College increased by over 100 per cent. With considerable experience managing key sector stakeholder relationships, Karen previously spent two years as Manager, Government Relations at Child Youth and Family, managing the relationship between the Department and the Minister’s Office. Karen also had eight years at the State Services Commission and through her role there as Regional Assistant Commissioner, she knows a number of Chief Executives around the country. While at the Commission, she led the development of the proposal to establish the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), a world-leading educational institution where some of our members have had experience. Karen’s interests include supporting her 14 year old son in his competitive swimming. With an “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” outlook, she is a qualified technical official, recently officiating at the Swimming New Zealand Short Course Championships in . She has also been involved with AFS New Zealand and is a Rotarian. The Executive Committee would like to thank the interview panel for their time and involvement in the appointment - Bruce Robertson, Assistant Auditor-General (Local Government); Tony Marryatt, CE, Christchurch City Council; and Bill Bayfield, CE, Environment Canterbury (and SOLGM Executive member) along with myself. We are looking forward to both welcoming and working with Karen who will commence with SOLGM on Monday 26 September.

Clare Hadley, SOLGM President Back to Top

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2011 solgm annual conference - register online now To find out more about about our inspirational conference speakers, social activities and programme, read our lastest conference newsletter by clicking here. Keynote Speaker Update Terry Huggins, Chief Executive, South Holland and Breckland Councils, UK, will speak on the Impact of Government Initiatives on Local Government in the UK. Terry Huggins was appointed Chief Executive of South Holland District Council in 2003 and of Breckland Council in 2010. During his time as chief executive of South Holland the Council has moved from an independent inspection rating of “fair” to “excellent” and has been innovative in its approach to tackling issues. It has established its own housing company to build affordable homes and a jointly owned business services company, of which he is a director, to deliver mainly support services back to South Holland and others. Terry is Senior Vice President of the Society of Local Government Chief Executives (SOLACE) and will become President in October 2011. Visit www.solgm2011.co.nz for more details and to register online now. Take advantage of the Early Bird Rate available until 30 September and the Group Booking Discount for three or more registrations from your organisation. Back to Top

five receive Simpson grierson solgm conference attendance awards The SOLGM Executive Committee has granted five SOLGM members with 2011 Simpson Grierson SOLGM Conference Attendance Awards. The recipients are: • Stephen Costelloe, Environmental Services Team Leader, Rangitikei District Council • Rachel Reece, Human Resources Manager, Queenstown Lakes District Council • Dean Johnston, Director Finance and Corporate Services, City Council • Debbi Miall, Administration Services Manager, • Vipul Mehta, Finance Manager, Council Each recipient will receive a cash grant to go towards their travel and accommodation costs to attend the SOLGM Annual Conference in Rotorua on 6-8 November. “The theme for this year’s Conference is One Step Ahead – the changing face of local government. I congratulate all the award recipients for them being ‘one step ahead’ and applying for the Awards to attend what will be their first SOLGM Conference. Congratulations, I look forward to welcoming you all to Conference.” Clare Hadley, SOLGM President The Awards are sponsored by Simpson Grierson. Back to Top

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leading practice and innovation: 2011 solgm local government excellence awards Entries are now open for these Awards The SOLGM Local Government Excellence Awards celebrate and recognise local government projects that showcase leading practice and excellence across local government in New Zealand. These are the only Awards that are solely for local government. What has your council done that you think represents leading practice, innovation or excellence in some aspect of its policy development or operations? The 2011 SOLGM Local Government Excellence Awards are your opportunity to share what you have done, what has worked and what you have learned with the rest of local government in these categories: • Building council-community relationships • Building organisational capability • Working together with other organisations to advance a common goal, and • Improving the effectiveness of your local authority’s performance in relation to an area of its regulatory responsibilities. More than the prize, winners gain recognition from the rest of local government, the opportunity for positive media, and a morale boost for staff who see the organisation acknowledging their efforts.

We are pleased to announce that GHD is our new sponsor for the Supreme Award and we thank GHD for their generous support. Find out more about GHD by clicking here

If you believe your project showcases innovation and excellence and deserves the recognition of your peers, enter the 2011 SOLGM Local Government Excellence Awards now. Click here to download the Call for Entries brochure To find out full details about the Awards including the submission templates available for downloading, click here

Join us for a FREE Webinar on Friday 2 September at 12.30pm on how to enter the 2011 Local Government Excellence Awards. Lots of handy hints! Click here to register.

For more information contact Don Mackay, Manager Good Practice and Policy, on 04 978 1258 or [email protected]

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Nominations for Long Service Certificates Sought SOLGM Branches can nominate members for local government long service recognition at the SOLGM Conference in November. Members should let their Branch President or Secretary know of any member they consider should receive a 20/ 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 / 45 year long service recognition certificate. The service can be with any number of local authorities including those overseas and such service does not need to be continuous. Please forward all nominations from Branches to Lara Sarich at National Office [email protected] z by Friday 7 October. Members receiving long service certificates will be acknowledged at Conference on Tuesday 8 November and if present, they will be presented with their certificate. Back to Top

New! solgm webinar series The SOLGM Webinar Series is now underway. Planned as a regular (usually weekly) programme, the SOLGM Webinar Series offers a new method of communicating topics of interest and course material to our members and other interested local government staff. A Webinar is an interactive seminar where presentations and short training courses are delivered via the Internet. You can view a presentation as it happens in real time and participate in discussions. Taking part saves you time and travel costs – you take part from your desk or wherever you may be. Joining a Webinar is simple – just one-click takes you to the registration section and another click joins you to the Webinar on the day. There are automatic emails and Outlook calendar reminders. You can ask questions either via text boxes or verbally. Webinars are generally recorded so you can watch them later if you missed the live Webinar. Find out what Webinars are planned at www.solgm.org.nz Upcoming topics include the: • Common Compliance Capability Project • LCP Revised Employment Module • BERL Cost Adjustors Report, and • A ‘LG 101’ course for new council staff. Some Webinars will be a free information service from SOLGM while others will involve a course fee. Marilyn Moffatt has joined the SOLGM OPUS Business School as the Webinar Business Developer to run this programme. If you would like to go on our email list to receive notification of future Webinars, or have ideas for topics, please contact Marilyn at [email protected] Back to Top

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Three more SOLGM Members Heading to the USA A further three fortunate SOLGM members are about to travel to the USA in September as part of an exchange programme funded by the US State Department. A first group of three SOLGM members travelled to the US in April under the scheme. Paul Chambers ( Council), Blair Dickie (Environment ) and Nicci Wood (Welllington City Council) will each spend two weeks in a host community, plus a week in Washington DC before, and a week after, their stay. Paul chambers Infrastructure Planning Engineer Nicci Wood will be hosted by the City of Mission (a community of 10,000 located in the metropolitan area of Kansas City, Missouri.). She will study the introduction of an enhanced bus service on main transit corridors. Sustainability Manager Paul Chambers and Environment Waikato’s Resource Management Policy Programme Manager Blair Dickie are both going to Palo Alto, California. The Palo Alto area is home to Nobel Prize winners,

Silicon Valley CEOs, venture-capital firms, Hewlett Packard, Facebook and one of blair dickie the most renowned universities and medical centres in the world. Palo Alto has adopted a Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring that 33% of the City’s electric usage be supplied by eligible renewable energy resources by 2015. The exchange was made possible by SOLGM’s links with ICMA (SOLGM’s sister organisation). SOLGM President, Clare Hadley says “This exceptional opportunity is a clear demonstration of the benefits of SOLGM membership for professionals wishing to advance their career and skills in the sector.” Nicci wood The programme is sponsored by the US State Department, which is meeting the cost of the exchange programme. Two US exchange fellows came to New Zealand in late June and were hosted by Hastings City Council, Otago Regional Council and City Council. A further two US exchange fellows will come to New Zealand in January, We wish Paul, Blair and Nicci well on their exchange programmes. For more information please contact Con Flinkenberg at [email protected] Back to Top more dollars and sense The SOLGM Financial Management Working Party has made some revisions to Part Six of More Dollars and Sense: Financials and the LTP. The revisions are minor and reflect the changes made in the final iterations of the Financial Disclosure Regulations. Complying with these regulations may be more complex than it appears on first glance, especially when you come to integrate them with the rest of financial system – we are aware of one council that estimates it has spent five person-weeks on this. Avoid leaving this at the last minute. Download More Dollars and Sense here For more information, please contact Raymond Horan at [email protected] Back to Top

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summaries, Submitters, Spatial Plans and Snow-Free 2011 Community Plan Conference “Size doesn’t matter when it comes to LTPs, but attitude, clarity of message, and creativity in its presentation are all critical”. The concluding thought offered to delegates at the (mercifully snow-free) 2011 Community Plan Conference in Nelson on 15/16 August. We were privileged to have presenters from two of the councils from the top five of the 2009 LTP Summaries (a third was snowbound in Christchurch). Richard Mabon of Waitaki District (the winning entry) reminded us of the importance of eliminating the inner bureaucrat and keeping the summary simple, while making the reader want to turn the page. All presenters achieved wonders on a tight budget ($13K was the most any spent on their summary) and avoided a focus on compliance merely for compliance sake. Ree Anderson from Auckland Council briefed everyone on the progress of the Auckland spatial plan to date. Delegates were left to ponder whether spatial planning, or something like it, is the shape of things to come as it’s not just an ‘Auckland/metro/growth council thing’. Penny Bloomberg presented some of the key findings from her Masters thesis on community engagement. Penny’s research shows that the demographics of those who make oral submissions are substantially different from the overall pool of submitters – and perhaps this is why people sometimes think the consultation process is for the squeaky wheels. Penny also highlighted the importance of the feedback loop – that is to say, explaining to the community what the council did with the information they received from the engagement process. In particular, the communication telling submitters what decisions have been made is a real opportunity to provide this explanation – and perhaps is an investment with a payoff in future participation. The 2012 Community Plan Conference (and 2012 LTP debrief) will be held in Wellington on 20/21 August 2012. For more information, please contact Raymond Horan at [email protected] Back to Top

legal compliance programme Employment The revised Employment module is now available online at www.solgm.co.nz This is a substantive revision of the module, which incorporates the new legislative provisions relating to requests for variations to working arrangements, cashing up of the 4th week of annual leave, and the transfer of a public holiday to another working day. In addition a variety of refinements have been made to other parts of the module. The module can be used online, or downloaded as a pdf document from the footer of the ‘links and pathways’ page of the module. Note however that the hyperlinks from the online module are not available in the pdf version. People holding paper copies printed from the previous version of the module should dump these and print or download the new version. Webinar We will be scheduling a free Webinar to have a “walk through” the new module along with some more general and background information about the programme and website and how to use them. This is provisionally scheduled for 16 September. We will advise the confirmed date through Listservs. Coming Soon Also about to go live are revised versions of the Rates Rebates, Property, Tendering and Procurement, and Enforcement modules. These are all scheduled for release during the week 5 to 9 September. We will notify users via relevant Listservs. For more information, please contact Don Mackay at [email protected] Back to Top

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housing affordability report: ‘‘part of the story” SOLGM recently submitted to the Productivity Commission’s report on Housing Affordability. The Commission’s report tells only a part of the story about the true causes of housing affordability issues. In particular – • The paper focused almost exclusively on house prices and other ‘up front’ costs to the exclusion of the ongoing costs of housing (maintenance, rates, insurance and the like) • The interplay between wealth, income, income support policy and housing affordability has been ignored • The links between housing, housing affordability and the macroeconomy have been overlooked - there is some evidence that a drive for home ownership at all costs was one of the root causes of the American sub-prime crisis • The paper buys into a number of shibboleths about building inspection, urban development strategies and the like without subject claims to analysis. We also noted our surprise that the Commission took a report from the Local Government Forum on development contributions more or less ‘on faith’ and without further analysis. About a third of our submission is a point by point rebuttal of what is a piece of interest group advocacy. As a result we’ve offered the Commission a crash course in local government finance! Download SOLGM’s submission here For more information, please contact Don Mackay at [email protected] or Raymond Horan at [email protected] Back to Top executive committee co-ops associate member representative On 15 July the Executive Committee agreed to co-opt Kate Glanville as the Associate Members’ representative on the Executive. Kate is looking forward to representing the Associate Members and working with the Executive Committee. For the last four years, Kate has held the position of Democratic Services Advisor at City Council. She holds a BA in Public Policy and a BCA in Marketing (Hons). Her previous roles include working for Endeavour Capital Limited, the Nursing Council of New Zealand and the National Bank. In welcoming Kate to the Executive, President Clare Hadley said “It was important that our younger Associate members are represented on the Executive. They are the future managers and leaders of the sector and it is critical that their professional Society is representative of them at governance level.” The formal process of electing an Associate Member representative to the Executive will occur at the AGM at Conference on Monday 7 November. This is necessary because no nominations for the Associate Member representative position were received from Associate Members when nominations were called for back in March.

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solgm new members SOLGM welcomes the following new members: Associate • Maseina Koneferenisi, Water Services Manager, Council • Erin Ganley, Wastewater Engineer, Horowhenua District Council • Michael Sarfaiti, Manager, Environmental Health, Southland District Council • Bevan Gray, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Council • Cheryl Gavin-Young, Revenue and Collections Manager, Far North District Council Full Members • Anusha Guler, Governance Support Manager, Auckland Council • Glennis Christie, General Manager, Policy and Governance, • Andrew Loe, Environmental Services Manager, Otorohanga District Council • Kerry Fabrie, Communications Manager, South • Mark Lester, Finance and Corporate Services Manager, Opotiki District Council • Barry Harris, Chief Executive, Hamilton City Council • Rengaraj Suppiah, Chief Financial Officer, Tararua District Council • Hamish Waugh, Infrastructure Group Manager, Manawatu District Council • Vipul Mehta, Finance Manager, South Taranaki District Council Welcome to the new members and we look forward to catching up with you in one of the many SOLGM events. Back to Top

coming Up at the solgm opus business school Following the Rugby World Cup, the SOLGM OPUS Business School will be straight back into business. We have three major events lined up for the end of October and November: • Our new training event on Plan Changes will be straight after the World Cup. • The second presentation of our specialist training for finance staff new to the local government sector is scheduled for November. • The Representation Review Forum is an essential preparation for the coming round of reviews. If you would like further information on any matter or if you have suggestions for other events, contact Con Flinkenberg at the SOLGM Opus Business School on 04 978 1281 or [email protected]

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building leaders for the sector 23-26 August 2011 - Wellington No other event held by the SOLGM OPUS Business School gains such consistently high evaluations from attendees as the Team Leaders’ course. This year’s course was no exception. The two attendees who ticked every single box in the evaluation sheet as ‘Excellent’ is just one outstanding outcome for this course, with the rest of the evaluations also having high ratings. Seven comments from seven different students at this year’s course: • The inclusive, well organised and non-threatening approach is very productive. The activities really make this course. Certainly will be recommending this course to others. • I wish I had done this course five years ago. • Excellent course for so many reasons. Anyone who gets the opportunity to go on this course should grab it with both hands! • Can I have asked for a better outcome? • TRANSFORMATION! • I will recommend other workmates to come on this course. THANK YOU! • Awesome and some great tools for me to work with. The Team Leaders’ course focuses on building self-awareness as well as leadership and has profound impacts on many of those who attend. What is more, they establish valuable contacts with peers in the sector and gain the opportunity to test themselves against those peers. These benefits do not arise when leadership training is conducted solely in-house. If you wish to grow the career or personal performance of your staff, contact us about Team Leaders’ training. Contact Con Flinkenberg at the SOLGM Opus Business School on 04 978 1281 or cflinkenberg@solgm. org.nz Back to Top

WHAT’S ON AT THE SOLGM OPUS BUSINESS SCHOOL Accelerate your career in local government Plan Changes Seminar 26-27 October 2011 - Wellington New Event! This two day course is an in-depth training event designed to provide attendees with the knowledge and skills to put the First Schedule of the Resource Management Act (RMA) into practice, through the preparation, changing and reviewing of RMA policy statements and plans, including plan changes and variations. The course has been specifically designed with Council Plan Technicians and Administrators in mind. The training includes an extensive range of case studies and practical exercises designed to extend the knowledge and skills of a Plan Technician or Administrator. The two days offer many opportunities for interaction and networking and there will be a special session where attendees can raise particular issues of concern. Click here to download the programme and register or visit www.solgm.org.nz

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Representation Review Forum 14 November 2011 - Wellington The Local Electoral Amendment Act 2002 requires each local authority to undertake a review of its representation arrangements at least once in every six years, which includes a review of Community Boards. Councils that did their previous review in 2009 are required to do their next review in 2012. The Forum will: • Explain the representation review provisions and their underlying principles • Explain the statutory deadlines • Raise important governance considerations in any review • Introduce the Local Government Commission’s guidelines to representation review determinations • Provide an overview of the SOLGM Electoral Working Party’s Good Practice Local Electoral Act Guideline Resource. The forum will be of benefit to: • Local authority elected representatives • Chief Executives • Electoral Officers, and • Any local authority officers involved with the representation review process. More details will follow shortly.

Who’s Afraid of the RMA 14 November 2011 - Wellington This is a one day training programme designed to meet the needs of anyone who wants a basic understanding of the Resource Management Act (RMA). Many people who are not experts on the RMA come into contact with it in the course of their work and need to have a lay person’s understanding of its content and processes. Without blinding you with science, this course aims to give you the understanding and oversight you will need to approach the Act with confidence and leave you ‘unafraid of the RMA’. During the day, you will be given simple exercises to reinforce your learning and give you confidence to tackle these issues in the workplace. You will leave with sufficient basic knowledge to understand the world of the RMA and to maximise future training opportunities, including the Making Good Decisions programme. More details will follow shortly.

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Finance for New Finance Staff 24-25 November 2011 - Wellington For staff new to the local government sector, the financial planning processes, methods of funding, legislative obligations, and terminology can be extremely unfamiliar, yet an understanding of all these aspects is vital to success of anyone working within a finance or policy team in the sector. Finance for New Finance Staff was specifically created by SOLGM last year to meet the specialist needs of local government finance and policy staff. Following the success of that first course, we have scheduled it again this year. Finance for New Finance Staff leads attendees through the key mechanisms of local government financial planning and management, evaluation of accounting and financial options, and explains the differences between local government and other institutions financial planning and management systems. The course will draw on practical exercises and local government examples and case studies, to reinforce seminar learnings. Click here to download the programme and register or visit www.solgm.org.nz

Rating Seminar 24-25 November 2011 - Wellington The annual SOLGM Local Government Rating Seminar is designed to inform and enhance rating skills across councils nationally. This two day seminar looks at both the policy and operational aspects of Rating. Day one is aimed at anyone with an interest in rating policy and its implications for local government. Day two focuses on the operational issues in local government rating and is aimed at those who are involved in the day to day mechanics of rating. You are able to register for either day or both depending on your interests. Click here to download the programme and register or visit www.solgm.org.nz

For more information on any of the courses, please contact the SOLGM Opus Business School: Carolyn Lampp, Event Coordinator • [email protected] • 04 978 1243 Fiona McDonald, Event Coordinator • [email protected] • 04 978 1289 Back to Top

SOLGM SUPPORTING SPONSORS

New Zealand Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM) Level 8, Civic Assurance House, 114-118 Lambton Quay • PO Box 5538, Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145 Ph 04 978 1280, Fax 04 978 1285, Email [email protected] • www.solgm.org.nz