Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

The purpose of local government has changed to 'meet the current and future needs of communities for good quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses”.

It is a bit hard to define what 'most cost-effective” means, but it is sure to be tested over the months ahead as the implementation of the new legislation gains traction. Prior to the change in purpose, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council had already put in place a programme to make sure it delivers a wide range of services in the most efficient and effective way possible.

In the current ten year plan, council set efficiency targets for its CEO and a series of efficiency reviews of various activities are underway using benchmarking where possible. The aim is to ensure we are operating in the 'most cost-effective” way possible and have a culture of efficiency and effectiveness across the organisation. Also under scrutiny are opportunities to deliver shared services with other local authorities. We already have some excellent examples of shared services – like the Geospatial Information Services (GIS) team we share with Tauranga City Council and provision of shared IT support to Opotiki, Kawerau and Whakatane district councils.

Not all efficiency and effectiveness actions will return financial savings – some may deliver more or better quality outcomes for the same or less. I look forward to receiving reports on our success.

If you have any views on this or any other issue, please contact me on neesj@xtra.co.nz or ring me on 07 579-5150. Or you can check out my website at www.janenees.co.nz