First Edition Southland District Council Newsletter
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Spring 2016 the First Edition Southland District Council Newsletter Protecting the pohowera Page 9. 1 LOOKING TO THE FUTURE STEVE RURU Southland District Council Chief Executive he best thing you can do whwhich were recognised at this year’s when you make mistakes is to LoLocal Government New Zealand Town them. ExExcellencec Awards; our project ChChanging Direction: The Way Forward Deloitte’s review report into the foforr Southland’s Roads won the award Around the Mountains Cycle Traill hhasas fforor Best Practice in Infrastructure been released, and its fi ndings werere – kknowing the Deloitte report has critical of the way Southland Districtict unundermined the public’s confi dence in Council has overseen this project sinceince us is a tough pill to swallow. What we its inception back in 2009. mumust do now is ensure the processes As an organisation we understandd we we have in place are robust enough to have to front up to what has happened.ened. mimitigate similar issues in the future. We got it wrong. We need to fi x it – and we will fi x it. Questions havee WiWinning the Excellence Award, for been asked of the processes we hadd iinn ininstance,s is recognition that despite place across our project management,ent, sosomem of the failings in the way the cycle fi nancial and governance structures.es. A trtraila has been managed, Southland number of changes have already beeneen DDistrictis Council does do a number made and there are more to come. of tthings well and to a standard rerecognisedc as being ‘best in class’. The role of the Activities Performanceance WhWhat we do need to do, however, is be Audit Committee has been broadenedned momore consistent in the way in which we to include risk management, internalnal do things and create a culture that sees audit and fi nancial management. Our us continuously challenging ourselves procurement and project management to improve. The fi ndings in the cycle processes are being refi ned and we We must trail review have been a stark reminder have developed new fi nancial and risk that we can never be complacent. We management processes. A separate must never be afraid to challenge governance committee has also been never be ourselves and ensure we are asking the formed to oversee the project. ‘ tough questions. As we implement the lessons that afraid to Asking those tough questions will have come out of the report, it is not stop future projects facing important to get things right. That’s challenge obstacles from time to time. Life is why we have pulled together a unpredictable and challenging. Projects structured programme to respond ourselves to the improvement opportunities undertaken by local government are identifi ed during the review. We no different and at times are made all will also report the progress we and ensure the more diffi cult by the very public are making to Council on a regular environment we work in. basis and I would not discount the we are What Southland District Council can possibility of a further independent do is ensure the processes we put in review of how we have gone. asking place going forward give us the ability At a time when we are doing many to proactively manage the unexpected things right – strengthening the the tough and deal with any issues that arise in a dialogue between Council and the considered way. By being committed communities it serves through our questions. to continuously improving the way we Community Conversations; our work as an organisation, we will get it innovative and collaborative approach right and be able to make a difference to Southland’s roads, the efforts of for the communities we serve. 2 Knowledge Management team leader Gillian Cavanagh is saying goodbye to 10 tons of Council property fi les. The long-awaited digitisation of project is the biggest she has been “We’ve got very high comfort levels Southland District Council property involved in at Council. with the vendor we’ve selected and fi les has had its fi rst test run. the work that they can do,” Mrs How big? Cavanagh says. On September 9, the fi rst 1000 There are more than 26,000 individual pilot fi les were sent to Auckland She admits that, initially at least, it fi les, many of them with multiple company Power Business Services to will be strange seeing the packed be digitised. They will be returned volumes, recorded on 10 tons of shelves of documents disappear. as PDF fi les to be imported into paper, stretching 450 metres in the “I’m looking forward to it, but at the Council’s Records Manager electronic Council fi le room waiting to be same time it’s quite scary, once you archives system. converted into electronic format. start sending it away.” The pilot fi les all relate to properties in The paper records won’t return However, a big part of the digitisation Otautau and the surrounding rural area. to Council. They will be stored at project is about risk management. an Auckland records management “For a lot of the information in those If the pilot goes according to plan, it storage facility run by international fi les, that’s the only copy there is. If will take about 12 months to convert company Recall, perhaps for that’s lost then it really is lost – it’s not all the Council’s paper property fi ve years or more. Long term, retrievable.” records dating back to 1942 into Council will have to consider having digital fi les. them destroyed. From mid-November computer kiosks will be set up at Council offi ces The fi rst consignment in October will It is a legislative requirement that for members of the public wanting be of 3500 fi les. After that, 5000 fi les councils keep property records that to access them. Eventually, once risk will be sent north every two months are accessible to the public for ever, management and privacy systems are to be turned into PDFs. so Council has to have confidence in place, the fi les will also be available Knowledge Management team leader that the digital archives are safe for public viewing online through the Gillian Cavanagh says the $1.5 million and sound. Council website. 3 Mistakes made on cycle trail The Deloitte report into the management of the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail project has been completed. The report is critical of both the governance and management processes around the trail project and says the $8 million budget was poorly constructed and did not recognise the need for contingencies or the risks that could affect the project. “However, many of the risks that Council commissioned the review Key failures include: could have happened, such as earlier this year after it identifi ed Environment Court appeals on the the projected cost of the trail had • Lack of adequate fi nancial consent and property access issues, increased to more than $14 million. reporting have happened and the costs have • Poor project management ballooned,” Mr Tong said. practices Even before the review, Council • Shortage of the skills needed to had already recognised the need to SoRDS manage the project strengthen its in-house governance, project management and fi nancial The project to attract 10,000 • Failure to pro-actively manage the management processes. The role of people to live in Southland by project risks the Activities Performance Audit 2025 and boost the region’s Committee has been broadened to economy has moved into the Southland District Council chief include risk management, internal next phase. executive Steve Ruru said there audit and fi nancial management All nine of the Southland had been mistakes made in the and procurement and project Regional Development Strategy management of this project and management processes are being Action Teams have presented Council should have done better. worked on at present. their draft action plans to the “Council seems to have become A separate project governance Governance Group. The group so engrossed in trying to make committee has been established consolidated their proposals the cycle trail happen that it has as well. into an overall plan that was forgotten to follow some basic presented to the Mayoral Forum project management disciplines,” “Council takes responsibility for the in September. It will then be Mr Ruru said. errors made and we have learnt from presented to the new Councils them,” Mr Tong said. following the elections. Mayor Gary Tong said he believed the intentions of those concerned Staff have been asked to develop It was expected the fi nal were always to make the project a an action plan to ensure the lessons consolidated plan will be success for Southland and to keep the learnt from this review released publicly in November. costs down. are implemented. 4 Aquaculture October 8 opportunities explored voting day Research into the potential for diversify the south’s social and Local government elections are looming. Southland’s aquaculture industry to economic opportunities. Local elections are held every three years grow are under way. Currently Southland has a small by postal vote. Everybody eligible to vote Southland District Mayor Gary Tong but fl ourishing aquaculture should have received their voting papers said he would be keeping a close eye industry, which includes one in the mail in mid-September, with the on the development of the district’s of New Zealand’s largest postal vote set to take place on 8 October. aquaculture industry, following his salmon farms on Stewart Island. In the Southland District, elections will trip to Norway and Iceland as part Nationally, the industry was worth be held for councillors in the Stewart of an Aquaculture New Zealand $62 million in exports in 2015.