Council travel policy aims to increase transparency

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick and former mayor of Beppu, in Japan, Hiroshi Hamada.

The Rotorua Lakes Council has passed a policy that it says will ensure all council delegations and overseas travel will be fully transparent and based on solid business cases.

The decision was made at a meeting of the council's Strategy, Policy and Finance Committee today and also included a discussion regarding Rotorua's sister cities relationships and whether they should be pursued by staff considering some of those relationships had not been acted on for years.

It also took into account council delegations to Local Government New Zealand and community board conferences.

According to an agenda report the council's Sister City Policy has remained unchanged for at least 10 years.

"Current policy stipulates the number of overseas sister city visits in each electoral term of council, but does not provide criteria on which the value of proposed travel can be assessed.

"This report proposes that going forward, a business case approach be used to determine the value of hosting sister city delegations when the proposed scale of the delegation/itinerary is out of proportion with any potential benefits from the relationship/visit, and international travel by elected members at council's cost.

"Business cases are to be approved through council and justified on the activity's contribution to the promotion of council's priorities, project or policy commitments, or economic development projects/priorities.

"The perceived benefits of having an international sister city programme alone is no longer seen as justifying ongoing relationship management investment.

"This report recommends that formal and prescribed contact with sister cities cease and that council respond to or pursue contact only when initiated and sustained by Rotorua's current sister cities; and when it is beneficial to council," the report stated.

Mayor Steve Chadwick said she had been waiting for the recommendation to be put forward for the past three years "so people don't say they are just junkets and that they are targeted [visits]".

"It clears up questions regarding my husband, as on most of these he has paid for himself.

"We have to be very careful with ratepayer's money," she said.

But councillor Rob Kent wanted to have council controlled organisations included saying the public did not care where the money came from for overseas travel or council delegations but that it was all considered ratepayer money.

Mrs Chadwick said she was not concerned about those organisations as long as they stayed within their respective budgets.