Key Takeaways
- Whangārei District Council has made improvements in processing building consent applications, but still missed its target of processing 96% within the statutory time.
- The council faces challenges in meeting statutory requirements due to complexity and lack of staff to meet peak demand.
- Despite these challenges, the council has a lower ratio of staff to population numbers in the country, with 429 fulltime-equivalent staff.
- The council is funding an independent financial review to look for efficiencies and greater savings without compromising services.
- The review aims to save $1 million in time for the 2026-27 Annual Plan consultation.
Introduction to the Council’s Performance
Whangārei mayor Ken Couper has defended the council’s performance, stating that while there are improvements to be made, the council is not doing a bad job. According to Couper, the council has made progress in processing building consent applications, with a fair assessment showing an improvement on last year’s performance. However, the council still missed its target of processing 96% of building consents within the statutory time, achieving just under 95% on time. Couper attributed this to the complexity of some applications, which can range from simple to complex, and the lack of staff to meet peak demand.
Challenges in Meeting Statutory Requirements
The council faces challenges in meeting statutory requirements, such as processing building consent applications within 20 working days. These requirements are blanket requirements that do not take into account the complexity of the application. For example, a simple house application and a complex commercial building application have the same timeframe, despite the significant difference in complexity. General manager of planning and development, Dominic Kula, agreed that the council had processed more complex commercial buildings in the past year, such as a new multi-storey building on Dent St. Very complex projects require outside expertise to process, which can add to the challenge.
Staffing and Resource Constraints
The council is also not staffed to meet a peak in demand, if applications all come in at once, Kula said. With 429 fulltime-equivalent staff, Whangārei has one of the lower ratios of staff to population numbers in the country. The annual report shows that the majority of staff, 363, earn under $100,000 a year, with 114 earning less than $60,000. Eleven staff are in the top bracket, earning between $180,000 and $399,999 a year. Despite these resource constraints, the council has a large number of targets to meet across a wide range of activities.
Reform and Feedback
On top of these targets, councils have faced a wide range of reform set by central government, including the Local Water Done Well programme and a 30-year Future Development Strategy. The council is required to provide feedback on these reforms, ensuring that the views of the Whangārei community are represented. For each of these reforms, staff have to provide feedback, which can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. Couper said that the council is committed to providing feedback and ensuring that the community’s voice is heard.
Independent Financial Review
Despite the council’s defence of its performance, Couper said that all expenses are being scrutinised. The council is funding an initial $50,000 for an independent financial review, with phase one tasked with saving $1 million in time for the 2026-27 Annual Plan consultation. The review is about looking for efficiencies and greater savings, without compromising services. Couper said that the review is an opportunity for the council to identify areas where it can improve and make savings, while still delivering quality services to the community.
Targets for Statutory Requirements
The council failed to meet six targets for statutory requirements, including compliance with resource consents for discharge from the wastewater system, percentage of non-notified resource consent applications processed within statutory timeframes, and percentage of building consent applications processed within statutory timeframes. However, the council met three targets for statutory requirements, including percentage of Section 223 and Section 224 applications for subdivision consents under the RMA completed within statutory timeframes, percentage of drinking water supplies that comply with Water Services (Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand) Regulations 2022, and plan changes are researched, proposed, consulted and reported on as required by council in accordance with the relevant statutory requirements.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Whangārei District Council has made improvements in processing building consent applications, but still faces challenges in meeting statutory requirements due to complexity and lack of staff to meet peak demand. The council is committed to providing feedback on reforms and is funding an independent financial review to look for efficiencies and greater savings without compromising services. While the council has a lower ratio of staff to population numbers in the country, it is still working to deliver quality services to the community. With the independent financial review and a focus on efficiencies, the council is well-placed to make improvements and achieve its targets in the future.
