Council leaders welcome Central Government’s ‘Better Local Services’ initiative

The call for councils to share more services to enhance quality and cost effectiveness has been welcomed by leaders of the Bay of Plenty Local Government Futures project.

Last week, Local Government Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga announced reforms to the local government sector to enable councils to deliver better services for ratepayers because existing local government structures limit the ability of 78 councils and 66 water authorities to work together to provide services and critical infrastructure.

He says the costs of local services are rising faster than councils’ revenues, so councils need new ways to manage finances, improve efficiencies and create value for ratepayers.

Mr Lotu-liga says the reforms include more flexibility to collaborate and develop shared services and that reorganisation processes can be locally led and driven. Greater use of Council Controlled Organisations with improved accountability tools to safeguard local democracy will also be part of the reform.

Local Government Futures Co-chairs, Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chairman Doug Leeder and Tauranga City Mayor Stuart Crosby, say local councils have been working together for the past 18 months in an effort to identify opportunities that deliver more effective services to the communities they serve.

“We are particularly interested in developing better ways of providing wastewater, water supply, transport, planning, water and biodiversity, resource consents and building consents. The Minister’s announcement provides even greater impetus for us to push on with this important work,” says Mr Leeder.

Mayor Stuart Crosby says while the details of the Minister’s proposals are still to be made clear they imply Government expects change to deliver better quality and cost effectiveness.

“We believe further work must be done to show that proposed changes will in fact deliver savings for ratepayers and better outcomes for their communities,’’ says Mr Crosby.

“Gathering this evidence is at the heart of the Local Government Futures work. This work will continue while the Better Local Services legislation progresses through parliament. We expect the results of our combined efforts will be fundamental to informing any approach to proposed changes to local government services in the Bay.”

ENDS

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