Tania Kerr: Let's be efficient

Tania Kerr

Often in the amalgamation debate we hear those opposed to change calling for further co-operation between councils, instead of supporting reorganisation to a single regional governing body. We are also told that the councils are currently working together in all the areas that matter to the region.

While the idea of shared services and collaboration sounds positive, the reality is they are not effective enough for the future Hawke's Bay is facing.

I sit on several joint council committees, some with Napier and Hastings, others with Hastings, Napier and Regional Council, and others involving all five councils.

I would like to share how a joint committee actually works and most importantly, what could be better. The latest council joint committee is a three-year project set up to investigate and develop a plan of action around coastal hazards between Clifton and Tangoio.

The team working on this is very professional " the staff, management and expert advisers are exceptionally committed, the science is robust but, and it's a big BUT ... the system we have is not fit for purpose. The energy and time it takes to co-ordinate inter-council work means that it took three months to organise diaries so three councils could meet.

When we finally managed to get around the table, it took another 15 months to have our Terms of Reference (essentially "what we do") agreed upon and signed off. A single council would have acted much faster.

We are now halfway through the allotted time for the project and recently met to approve the community and groups we will consult, advise and collaborate with. Eventually we will achieve an outcome. But the system is not helping, nor is it cost-effective. Sign-off and formal approval from three different councils will also be required. Valuable staff hours will be involved with meeting the three separate councils.

All of this time wasting will remain unless we vote for change.

When your voting papers arrive towards the end of this month, I encourage you to think about the structure of our councils, not about the personality politics we have all been subjected to for months.

I'm looking forward to a structure that provides far better value for the ratepayer.

Our current fragmented structure is not effective, efficient or cohesive. Let's vote to change it, so we can get on with the real work.

-Tania Kerr is a farmer, mother, and Hastings District councillor living north of Napier. She also sits on the Rural Community Board, Hastings' own version of a local board, which has worked well since 1989 in looking after the interests of its local rural community.