Employ a regional approach to regional council operations
RECENTLY, the Otago Regional Council has moved on to yet another proposal for a place to build a new office building.
This search for a new home for them all has been going on since at least 2006. In 2008, the project was close enough to call for tenders. It has been urgent off and on since then.
Millions of dollars have been spent on scoping options, all on the assumption that staff need to be collected together in one spot.
If the ORC wants to be taken seriously about being regional, why not spread more of its people around the region it occupies?
Regional councils are a result of the amalgamation of various functions which were previously carried out by the likes of rabbit boards and catchment boards.
The functions carried out by the ORC include monitoring and regulating water and air quality, hazard management, pest control, biodiversity, regional transport planning, resource consenting and civil defence responsibilities.
These are a diverse range of duties, which seem to have little need to interact with each other.
Much of the work of those involved in monitoring is done around Otago, in the very areas that used to be hives of activity back in the catchment and rabbit board days.
And the places that need such work as pest control and river and fresh water management could also do with an injection of people and money into their communities.
Take Middlemarch. The ORC takes big rates amounts from the area, and has significant duties to perform. It was historically the base of what looks like a purposebuilt rabbit board building.
Middlemarch, as its name suggests, is central to the area. The fingerpost in the town shows the North Pole in one direction and the South Pole in the other, which seems very central. It also boasts facilities such as a swimming pool, churches both Catholic and Protestant, a museum, a sports ground and a cemetery.
There is also a morethanadequate supply of car parking for any ORC employees who would be lucky enough to work there. There is a bus service to the downtown part of Dunedin City. Well, actually I have no idea whether there is or not but the ORC is in charge of buses in the region so it could certainly make sure there is a good bus service.
If we need to make more of a case for establishing parts of the ORC functions in the regions, we could look at the reasons that have been given to Shane Jones for spreading the Provincial Growth Fund money as far as the waterfront in Dunedin.
Supporting our region by spreading the ratepayerfunded people and other resources may also be a vote catcher at the next election, just as giving our money back can woo voters for central government.
Clearly, some of the ORC staff need to communicate with each other from time to time. This could be done using modern communication methods such as emails and Skyping.
We all know deep in our hearts that any time there are meetings of more than three people some of them will be thinking about what to have for Christmas dinner and when they can have a coffee, so reducing meetings is likely to improve productivity.
And it is likely to be cheaper having staff spread further around. There are spare buildings all over Otago which would be great with a little refurbishment.
There are halls everywhere which could hold ORC council meetings.
For the coastal and harbour management, Port Otago, which is of course owned by the ORC, could provide some meeting spaces and possibly offices. They have land which could have temporary offices. I say temporary because if the DCC is right about climate change then it would be prudent not to build anything permanent on Port Otago land which could be under water within the life of a permanent building.
And speaking of the DCC, if the DCC stops scrapping with the ORC and decides, or is obliged, to amalgamate with them we would not have an expensive purposebuilt building going to waste.
Spreading the ORC around according to its functions could save money.
The ORC has long held the view that building a new office to house themselves will not cost ratepayers any money as there has been a building fund being put aside for just this purpose.
But the ORC money put aside for a building fund came from ratepayers, and any spare from not building a new fancy office can go back to ratepayers, and save the eyewatering 21% rates increase this year and over 20% the year after.
If we set an example of how to operate a regional council in a truly regional fashion, we could show those in central government how they, too, can take money from all over and use it to benefit and support citizens from all over.
Come on guys. Uncircle the wagons and go out and live with the locals. — hcalvert@xtra.co.nz