O’Regan outlined several of O’Sullivan’s attributes which helped her secure the top job.
“Steph is unashamedly a people person, and that’s what it’s all about,” she said.
At a time of crossroads for local government, the council had sought a chief executive who would embrace change at every level and embody transformational leadership.
The most important attributes she brought were transparency, inclusivity and accountability.
“As our sector changes – and believe me, it absolutely must change, and it absolutely will – I wanted our organisation led by someone who is nimble and who thrives on and embraces innovation, someone who sees opportunity as well as risk,” O’Regan said.
“In other words, we wanted a glass-half-full person, not glass-half-empty.”
New Waipā District Council CEO, Steph O’Sullivan, was welcomed at a powhiri at the Don Rowlands Centre. Photo / Mike Walen
These included being a collaborative, confident decision-maker and proven leader, who shared information openly.
“Importantly, we sought a ‘servant leader’, that is, a person who focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people in the community to which they belong, serving the needs of the whole Waipā team,” O’Regan said.
O’Sullivan thanked her family, who she said had taught her the values of hard work, and reflected on growing up on a farm in the community of Tokoroa, which had taught her the appreciation of difference, diversity and its strengths.
She paid tribute to all those who had supported her on her leadership journey that had ultimately led her to Waipā, including Dyet, who had been a friend and mentor as well as a colleague.
O’Sullivan also reflected on her move to the Home of Champions and its Olympic successes, citing the commonalities with local government, including the desire to perform, to do well by those around us, and to make the community proud.
“My role as chief executive is to ensure that we create and nurture a high-performance environment by making sure our organisation and culture is adaptive and focused on delivery and our purpose,” she said.
Pursuit, effort and endeavour were three words at the forefront of her mind.
“Pursuit in that we must get after those things that are important – continually moving in a positive direction, aiming higher, doing better.
“Effort to realise performance needs to be higher, with efficiency, with engagement. With creating thriving prosperous communities, pursuit needs effort to sustain it.
“And endeavour, creating communities that we can not only be proud of but living up to and maintain the brand of being the Home of Champions, and Local Government living up to, being connected to and reflecting our celebrated brand.
“That is my role and that will be my focus.”
One of the first decisions O’Sullivan will be part of involves the major changes coming with how Waipā District Council delivers water services in the future.
Like most other councils, Waipā manages its three waters services internally, using in-house staff and civil contractors to deliver drinking water, wastewater and stormwater across the district.
On Tuesday, the council acknowledged that was unlikely to continue, directing staff to investigate two options for the future.
One option will see O’Sullivan negotiating a non-binding agreement for Waipā to potentially join with other Waikato councils in forming a regional waters organisation.
It follows a report released by the Waikato Mayoral Forum in July, which said the region would be better off if local councils worked together to deliver water services.
Both the Ōtorohanga District Council and Waitomo District Council made the same decision on Tuesday, also directing their chief executives to begin negotiations.
Waipā's second option will see the council concurrently doing an independent assessment to determine if Waipā can continue to stand alone to deliver water services in future, or if it was better off joining with others.
That assessment will be completed by late September.
The independent report from the Mayoral Forum said a regional waters entity could save $338 million across the region with most ($185m) savings driven by improved capital works and planning.
It noted councils face significant community affordability challenges, with high-growth councils also coming up against debt limits.
O’Regan said the Government had made it crystal clear – repeatedly – that the status quo for three waters is not acceptable and it was clear no government handouts were coming to help.
“The savings identified are really, really important but let’s not kid ourselves. There are a whole lot of other challenges to be aware of, including securing specialist waters staff and also finding contractors with the capacity to even deliver capital projects that we need to address,” she said.
“We can either choose to collaborate with other councils, or we will compete with them for the same resources. That simply doesn’t make sense to me so I think we must seriously look at aggregation and the opportunities that will be offered to our district.
“We need all the information on the table, noting there are still a lot of issues to work through. Whatever way we go, we know that change is coming.”
A draft non-binding Heads of Agreement will be brought back to the council before the end of October.
Another hot topic from Tuesday’s meeting has seen the council clamp down on anti-social driving in rural Waipā.
Signs advising the ban on light motor vehicles on several rural roads are now up, giving police more tools to stamp out anti-social driving in the district.
A register has been created under the Public Places Bylaw, confirming the roads where the light vehicle prohibition is in place.
It is an offence for light motor vehicles (weighing less than 3.5 tonnes) to be on those roads between 9pm-4am unless drivers can prove they have legitimate business.
Waipā District Council transport manager Bryan Hudson said now the signs are in place, police will have powers to issue warning notices and even impound cars of rule-breakers.
Light vehicle prohibition sign at Bank Road Road to lake Ngā Roto. Photo / Dean Taylor
“Council is not trying to stop legitimate drivers using rural roads,” Hudson said. “But if ‘boy racing’ behaviours such as racing, cruising, burnouts, doughnuts and excessive speed and noise are reported, police can now enforce the ban.”
Hudson acknowledged the ban won’t wipe out anti-social driving altogether in Waipā, but it was an important tool.
The roads listed in the new register were identified as popular spots for late-night anti-social driving and were also practical in terms of enforcement.
“A ban is only viable for some types of roads,” Hudson said.
“It wouldn’t work in streets with on-street parking, or on roads with multiple entry and exit points, which is generally the case on residential streets, or State Highways where the council has no authority.
“We encourage all residents affected by anti-social driving behaviour to keep reporting instances to the police at the time it is happening.”
O’Sullivan’s involvement in these major decisions comes with a fresh start as the public perception of Waipā District Council is on the rise, according to the 2024 Annual Resident Perception Survey.
A back-to-basics approach to council spending and decision-making is beginning to deliver for the council, with the latest survey showing an encouraging upturn.
Satisfaction with overall performance has increased by three percentage points (from 19% to 22%) since 2023, and satisfaction across most other measures has also increased, including value for money.
O’Regan said it was encouraging to see public perception of the council improving during such challenging economic times.
“It’s early days, but this gradual improvement shows that Waipā residents are increasingly trusting the council and appreciating its efforts,” she said.
“We’ve had to make some tough calls to strike the right balance between core services and projects that will help Waipā truly thrive in the future.
“The survey results show we are on the right track and highlights the areas where we need to continue to strive to improve.”
Satisfaction with the council’s overall services, facilities and infrastructure increased four percentage points year-on-year, and the council’s overall reputation increased from 62% to 65%.
Nearly one in seven respondents praised the council for doing a good job, recognising in particular its friendly and helpful staff.
Issues with roading infrastructure remain the top concern for Waipā people, with 27% of respondents making comments related to roads.
A number also raised concerns about growth and development, and their effect on the community.
The areas identified for priority improvement include value for money and financial management.
O’Regan said she was heartened that pride in the Waipā district remains strong, with community spirit increasing and 66% of residents rating their quality of life as good to excellent.
“Our Waipā rangatahi [young people] have an increasing perception of culture and heritage in the district, as well as a significantly increased knowledge about the council and its activities since the last survey – and that’s really positive for the future.”
The resident perception survey is one mechanism the council uses to seek feedback from the community, to gain valuable insight to support its decision-making.
The data have been collected four times a year since June 2016.
Benchmark results against other councils will be available in mid-September and will reveal wider trends across the local government sector.
