North Shore City's Annual Report online

October 8, 2004

North Shore City Council's 2003-04 Annual Report is now online. The annual report records the council's performance over 12 months from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004.

In a statement published on its website, www.northshorecity.govt.nz, the council says it has made good progress in a number of areas that residents have said are important for the city including improving beach water quality and creating better transport choices.

"We completed the $32m stage four upgrade of the Rosedale Wastewater Treatment Plant in April on time and under budget. The upgrade, which included a new UV disinfection system, will reduce odours, increase capacity, and improve the quality of effluent discharged into the sea.

"Earthworks have started on two park and ride bus stations which will form part of the $250m Northern Busway due for completion in 2007. This will mean faster, more reliable public transport with better services across our city and neighbouring cities," the council says.

Other notable achievements include the introduction of development contributions as a fairer way to fund the cost of growth in the city, the opening of the council's seventh library in April and the ongoing programme to install new and innovative equipment in many of the city's parks to encourage children of all ages to be active.

The council says its strong financial control during the year has enabled additional investment in parks maintenance to address some urgent needs.

"The council was able to approve a $2.3m increased expenditure in parks maintenance during the year. We achieved a new high in our parks customer satisfaction level of 88 per cent.

"Another big tick was Actionline, our 24/7 call centre which gives advice and service on many different matters. Customer satisfaction reached 84 per cent, an 11 per cent increase from last year."

Processing times for consents improved following the council's comprehensive review of processes for land use, subdivisions, building consents and inspections.

More building consents were processed - 5,023 building consents in the last year which is 11 per cent more than the previous 12-month period.

North Shore City's investment in information technology is paying off with customers choosing to view 5,000 property files electronically every month, saving both time and money. Council staff are now able to service 95 per cent of requests electronically.

Prudent financial controls were applied to manage total assets of $2.9 billion and an annual operating and capital budget of $270m.

(ends)

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