Productivity enhancement fads zoom around the business world these days faster than the annual flu bug. One of the more enduring of these has been performance reviewing, where everyone sits around and sets targets for the coming year's work. This system is so established now that we're even doing it at the Herald.
Flicking through Auckland City's annual accounts, I see they're doing it at city hall as well.
There, they've set themselves achievement targets, then brought in the public opinion pollsters to find out whether you and I think they've met them. It makes for interesting, and at times confusing, reading. Starting at the top, our civic bureaucrats and politicians will not be too impressed with our view of their work.
It seems only 42 per cent of Auckland ratepayers reckon our leaders - who cost $9.4 million to maintain - are doing a good job. The silver-lining for city hall, I guess, is that this is a 9 per cent higher approval rating than they scored in the 1998-1999 year. But it is still well shy of the modest 50 per cent target they set for themselves.
Why a 50 per cent target and not 70 per cent or 100 per cent I don't know. I guess the experts would say, base your targets on the previous year's results and make them achievable so as to avoid terminal depression.
Why didn't we think they did very well? Well, we came up with all the old classics. A lack of clear vision, direction and leadership on issues like transport and roading. Inefficient use of ratepayers' money. Not enough consultation with other councils in the region. Insufficient consultation with ratepayers.
I won't go on. Still, some of us love them. Of the pensioners in council accommodation, for example, 93 per cent are happy with their lot. The same proportion of library-goers left the city's libraries equally satisfied - taking with them in the 1999-2000 year 5,385,278 borrowed books.
Not only are we rather unhappy with our leadership, we're equivocal about whether we enjoy living in the City of Sails. While 78 per cent of us rate Auckland "as a city which is exciting," it would be wrong to assume we mean exciting in a fun way.
Our worries about crime suggest it is more the excitement you get watching a good horror movie.
Only 31 per cent of residents rate it as a safe city - well below the 50 per cent target - and only 51 per cent rate it "a place where you personally feel safe from crime."
Adding to the confusion, only 32 per cent rate it as a city where you can move around in comfort and safety.
Safety worries ranged from those who want glass cleaned up more diligently after road accidents to those who want smoke alarms in public buildings and others who want skateboarders off the streets.
There was also general disgruntlement with anything to do with roads. Not altogether surprising when the officials admit that roading and pavement maintenance scores just 24 per cent or half the 50 per cent target figure.
Only 29 per cent of us reckon "parking needs are balanced with public transport strategies." By that, I presume, we're saying there aren't enough public car parks.
The dreaded parking wardens add to our transport woes. It will confirm every ticketed-person's worse suspicions to learn that 14 per cent - just over one in six - of issued parking tickets are later cancelled "due to parking-officer error."
All is not lost, though. We Aucklanders are easily distracted with matters cultural and sporting. It seems 92 per cent of us rate Auckland "a city with an abundance of recreation and sport" while 81 per cent say it is a city "with an abundance of arts, culture and recreation."
It's a shame that personal-safety worries may be preventing many from enjoying this abundance.
Local politicians can't do a lot on the issue of personal safety. But the Auckland disgruntlement over leadership and transport is a different story.
With elections just a year away, I suspect this Statement of Service Performance will become a popular primer for our politicians.
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