Whanganui District Council chief executive says $22 million spend on contractors and consultants most cost-effective option

Whanganui District Council chief executive David Langford. Photo / Bevan Conley

The Whanganui District Council spent more on consultants and contractors in 2021/22 than its counterparts in New Plymouth, Waikato and Christchurch.

Figures released as part of the Taxpayers’ Union’s ratepayers’ report show the council coughed up just over $22 million for 372 contractors.

Council chief executive David Langford said that figure wasn’t surprising and, if anything, it was a good thing for the community.

“All the money we spend on resurfacing our roads goes to our contractor - Downer,” he said.

“When we do our annual resealing programme it only lasts for a few weeks.

“If council tried to self-deliver that work we’d have to buy millions of dollars worth of equipment. It would sit idle, doing nothing, for most of the year.”

The same idea applied to areas like the Whanganui’s wastewater and drinking water networks, he said.

“We have companies like Veolia doing the maintenance and operations of those things because it’s more cost-effective.”

Langford said the council compared outsourcing to self-delivery and always picked the most cost-effective option

That also applied to specialist consultants.

“You might need some real specialist advice for one project and you never need it again.

“Why would you get a staff member with those skills when you don’t need them in the long term?”

Rarely, consultants were brought in when a position couldn’t be filled.

That occurred when deadlines and timeframes had to be met.

“Processing resourcing consents is an example. We don’t have the option to say, ‘We’re short-staffed, we can’t do it’,” Langford said.

“If it’s not critical, we’ll recruit and wait and the work will pause until we get a new staff member on board.”

South Taranaki Mayor Phil Nixon. Photo / Bevan Conley

Elsewhere, the Rangitīkei District Council spent $3.56 million on consultants and contractors.

Ruapehu spent $3.27 million and South Taranaki spent $155,000 - the lowest in the country.

South Taranaki Mayor Phil Nixon said he wasn’t sure if there was a prize involved but he would happily take it.

“As a smaller council, we are always looking at how we can be most cost-effective for the ratepayers.

“We need to be prudent.”

However, It was difficult to compare council expenditure in that area, he said.

Roading in South Taranaki had been brought “back in-house” a few years ago.

“Quite a few years ago, we brought our park staff back in, to a certain degree, and our aquatic services are back in-house as well,” Nixon said.

Palmerston North City notched up $70.4 million, with New Plymouth spending slightly less than Whanganui - $21.7 million.

Christchurch City Council spent $15.7 million on consultants and contractors in 2021/22.

Langford said that the council created Citycare as its own contractor to deliver services.

“They are big enough to justify having that resource on full-time. They don’t need to pick it up and drop it like smaller councils do.”

Nixon said the council didn’t just bring services in-house “for the hell of it”.

“It always comes down to good economic management.

“We look at the service we’re getting, what it’s costing and what we can do it for to still get the same result.”

For the 2021/22 financial year, the Taxpayers’ Union said Whanganui District Council’s average residential rate was $3015 and its average non-residential rate was $7845.

That ranked Whanganui as having the 38th lowest residential rates and the 45th lowest non-residential rates.

Langford said there were 67 district and local authority councils, excluding regional councils.

“If you take our average residential rates, we’re really close to the average for the country.

“Yes, we have some really high rates, but they’re paid for by people who live in expensive houses in St Johns Hill and some of the more affluent suburbs.”

Whanganui having really high rates was “a myth that needs busting”, Langford said.

“Maybe 10 years ago they were really high compared to the rest of the country but now, we’re in the middle of the pack.”

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.