Minutes of Performance & Monitoring Committee Meeting

Thursday, 9 May 2024

Te Hui o Te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Heretaunga

Hastings District Council: Performance and Monitoring Committee Meeting

Ngā Miniti
Minutes

Kua Tae ā-tinana:
Present:

Chair: Councillor Michael Fowler

Councillors: Ana Apatu, Marcus Buddo (Deputy Chair), Alwyn Corban, Malcolm Dixon, Damon Harvey, Henry Heke, Kellie Jessup, Tania Kerr, Eileen Lawson (via Zoom), Simon Nixon, Wendy Schollum (via Zoom) and Kevin Watkins

Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst

Hastings District Rural Community Board appointee: Jonathan Stockley (RCB Chair)

Kua Tatū:
In attendance:

Chief Executive - Nigel Bickle

Deputy Chief Executive – Bruce Allan (Lead)

Group Manager: Strategy & Development – Craig Cameron

Chief Financial Officer – Ross Franklin

Financial Controller – Aaron Wilson

Management Accountant – Development Contributions - Richard Elgie

Group Manager: Planning & Regulatory Services - John O’Shaughnessy

Group Manager: Community Wellbeing & Services – Rebekah Dinwoodie

Group Manager: Marketing, Communications & Engagement – Naomi Fergusson

Legal Counsel - Scott Smith

Building Consents Manager - Tony Manunui

Compliance Manager - Sam Hayes

3 Waters Manager - Steve Cave

Public Spaces and Building Assets Manager - Colin Hosford

Project Delivery Manager - Francois Blay

Communications & Engagement Lead - Diane Joyce

Waste & Data Services Manager - Martin Jarvis

Manager: Democracy & Governance Services – Louise Stettner

Democracy & Governance Advisor - Christine Hilton

Democracy & Governance Advisor – Caitlyn Dine

1. Opening prayer - Karakia

The opening prayer was given by Councillor Kellie Jessup.

2. Apologies & Leave of Absence - Ngā Whakapāhatanga me te Wehenga ā-Hui

There were no apologies.

It was noted that Councillor Henry Heke would need to leave the meeting at 10.30am.

3. Conflicts of Interest - He Ngākau Kōnatunatu

There were no declarations of conflicts of interest.

4. Confirmation of Minutes - Te Whakamana i Ngā Miniti

Councillor Watkins/Councillor Dixon

That the minutes of the Performance & Monitoring Committee Meeting held Thursday, 28 March 2024 be confirmed as an accurate record.

CARRIED

Building Unit Review, April 2024

(Document 24/155) (The attachment was included in a separate attachment document – Volume 1)

The Group Manager, Asset Management: John O’Shaughnessy and Building Consents Manager, Tony Manunui, spoke to the report and responded to extensive questions from the committee.

A power point presentation slide was shown and addressed (CG-17-4-00117).

Councillor Kerr/Councillor Harvey

A) That the Performance and Monitoring Committee adopt the report titled Building Unit Review, April 2024 dated 9 May 2024 including the following recommendations.

Recommendation	Priority
Business Leadership and Planning
1 Develop a business plan for the Unit that reflects the key objectives, priorities and KPIs that will drive the business.	High
2 Review and amend the Position Descriptions of Managers, Team Leaders, and staff to ensure key objectives and KPIs direct their work.	High
3 Commit to regular, meaningful performance discussions assessing performance against individual’s KPIs.	High
4 Invest in the leadership development of Managers and Team Leaders.	Medium
5 Hold regular all-of-team meetings of the Unit and consider developing other methods of keeping all team members abreast of team performance and relevant issues.	Medium
6 Adopt a more risk-based and value-based approach when processing consents and considering RFIs sent to customers/agents, supported by a framework that enables officers to exercise their judgement within.	High
7 Develop a risk register for the Unit that captures key risks and opportunities, and report periodically to elected members on any actual or potential litigation.	Medium
Service Delivery and Customer Service
8 Transfer responsibility for booking inspections from the Customer Services Team to a team within the Unit that is closely aligned to the Inspections Team Leader.	High
9 Increase monitoring of key service delivery targets and have performance exceptions flagged in the processing phase ensuring all consents are processed as quickly as possible – the Unit should seek to process at least 95% of consents within statutory timeframes and, on average, in 11 working days.	High
10 Develop a digital dashboard that captures key performance indicators and ensure this is visible to all Managers and staff members.	Medium
11 Increase the Unit’s customer focus with greater interaction, by telephone and meetings, with customers/agents before and during the processing of consents.	High
12 Survey customers periodically, along other initiatives such as regular meetings with key customers, to gain insights regarding the Unit’s performance and opportunities for improvement.	~~Medium~~ High
13 Review the frequency and content of customer bulletins and advice notices	Medium
14 Review the customer complaints and compliment process to define response timeframes and determine ‘learnings’ that follow any investigations and continuously improve systems and procedures based on the learnings.	Medium
15 Review how well pre-application processes are working for Council units and developers.	Medium
16 Explore, with other Councils, new ways of working together, whether that is a regional building unit, or forming a ‘cluster’ that develops consistent approaches to working together and making it easier for customers who work across district boundaries.	Medium
Financial Performance and Management
17 Develop a robust financial model that underpins the Unit’s business plan to: • better forecast levels of activity, • determine the appropriate resourcing of the Unit and productivity of staff, • set reasonable fees and charges and determine whether overhead allocations are fair and reasonable, and • be a reliable basis to monitor performance against.	High
18 Review the Revenue and Financing Policy as it relates to the Unit, at a more granular level, to confirm the appropriate consideration of public and private benefits related to the Unit’s activities and the associated funding choices the Council has regarding fees and charges and rates contributions.	~~Medium~~ High
19 Review staff charge-out rates and Unit fees and charges.	Medium
20 Establish a Retained Earnings account for the Unit, so that it is both accountable for the ongoing financial performance of the Unit, as well as providing a buffer for the Unit to operate within, especially in times of economic downturn.	Medium
21 Restructure the Unit’s financial reporting so that controllable costs and revenues are identifiable for each team and there is greater accountability for financial performance.	High
22 Review the overhead allocation methodology, especially as it relates to Customer Service activities.	Medium
Systems and Processes, Technical Competence, and Resourcing
23 Reduce the nature and extent of peer reviews of consents to better reflect the risk profile of the customers/applications and the competency of staff involved.	High
TLA Statutory Functions
24 Review and develop processes and procedures to support the Unit’s statutory functions.	Medium
25 Develop a Compliance Management Framework, preferably in conjunction with neighbouring Councils.	Medium
26 Adopt a text push service, or similar, for customer engagement around annual BWOFs reminders and follow up, and other activities like booking inspections of pool barriers.	Medium
Responding to Cyclone Gabrielle
27 Develop localised flood modelling that more accurately determines flood levels and flows to give greater confidence to the location and finished floor levels of new buildings.	Medium

B) That the Committee notes the Chief Executive and Council Staff accept the Review findings in Part A) above, and are focused on implementation of the recommendations.

C) That the Chief Executive brings back, to the next Performance and Monitoring Committee meeting, an Implementation Plan including timeframes for the recommendations in Part A) above.

D) That progress on the implementation plan is monitored by reporting through the Performance and Monitoring Committee.

E) That the Committee directs the Chief Executive to engage the Building Advisory Group to actively monitor the priorities in Part A) above, to see what can be undertaken immediately with an emphasis on quality customer services and what work needs to be strategically managed and progressed over the longer term to achieve the objective of a high performing Building Unit.

CARRIED

Quarterly Financial Report for the nine months ended 31st March 2024

(Document 24/127)

The Deputy Chief Executive, Bruce Allan, and the Financial Controller, Aaron Wilson, spoke to the report and responded to questions from the committee. A power point presentation was shown and addressed (CG-17-4-00114).

Officers advised that the costs being incurred post-Cyclone Gabrielle were continuing to have an impact and noted the approach the Council was taking to attempt to offset those costs.

Officers also noted the wording that had been omitted at the end of Paragraph 4.19 of the report. That wording should have read “… funding received in advance for the Category 3 buy-outs”.

Councillor Henry Heke left the meeting at 10.35am.

Councillor Dixon/Councillor Kerr

That Performance and Monitoring Committee receives the report titled Quarterly Financial Report for the nine months ended 31st March 2024 dated 9 May 2024.

CARRIED

The meeting adjourned for morning tea at 10.37am

and resumed at 10.53am

Performance and Monitoring Report for the quarter ending 31 March 2024

(Document 24/133) (The attachment was included in a separate attachment document – Volume 2)

The Deputy Chief Executive, Bruce Allan, spoke to the report and attachment document, providing an overview. Mr Allan and a number of other group managers and officers responded to questions from the committee.

The Mayor acknowledged the community engagement work that officers have undertaken as part of the road to recovery following Cyclone Gabrielle as well as the Long Term Plan (LTP) and wider engagement work around all the council’s projects.

Councillor Buddo/Councillor Nixon

That the Performance and Monitoring Committee receive the report titled Performance and Monitoring Report for the quarter ending 31 March 2024 dated 9 May 2024.

CARRIED

8. Minor Items - Ngā Take Iti

There were no additional business items.

9. Urgent Items - Ngā Take Whakahihiri

There were no extraordinary business items.

The meeting closed at 11.30am

Confirmed:

Chairman:

Date: