Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

Over the past four weeks  I have attended two workshops run by Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ).  These workshops are designed to assist  councillors in getting to grips with  the responsibilities of asking the right questions and making the right decisions. 

The first workshop focused on asset management and left me with a far clearer idea about how we manage Council's assets, not to mention some insights into how engineers think!

The community's assets are what makes our community tick and how well we manage, maintain and plan for these assets plays a vital role in community development.  Many of our assets have a lifespan of 50 years or more, so attention to the growth and development of our region is an important factor when allocating funding as we need to make sure the asset will cope with future demands. 

Essentially asset management for most of us is about levels of service.  The Council asks the community: "Are you getting the services you need for a reasonable cost?"   Sometimes this means we need to look at different ways of doing things, not just building something bigger.  And this is where asking the right questions can make all the difference. 

The second workshop was on effective decision making.  I received a clear reminder that it more about the ability to influence the collective decision-making around the council table than it is about an individual's views and issues.  A key test is the willingness to make the right decisions which are not necessarily the most popular ones while taking the community with you. The Local Government Act 2002 provides the legal framework that guides this process. 

As elected officials we are not at the council chambers every day and we are not staff with designated roles and responsibilities.  Decision making at our level is about governance not management (certainly not micromanagement); there's no point in having a dog and doing all the barking yourself.

Women In Local Body Politics

What does it take to be a local body councillor?

Is it something you might be interested in learning more about?

What do our councillors do and what sort of time commitment is required?

These and many more issues will be discussed at a meeting organised and hosted by the Zonta Club of Rotorua.  The meeting will be held at  Galaxy Travel, 1183 Amohau Street on Thursday 13^th May at 730 pm. For more information phone Janette on 07 347 8177 (evenings). 

There are currently six women councillors on the Rotorua District Council and Zonta is providing an opportunity for other women to meet them informally, to hear them speak about their experiences and answer any questions you may have. 

If you are considering running for council or are interested in how the council works, why not take this opportunity to come along and hear what we have to say. 

Sorry guys this is for women only.

My Rubbish Trip To The South Island

I know most people go to  the South Island to enjoy the beautiful scenery and over Easter I got the chance to do plenty of that.  However,  I also spent some time looking at rubbish; how it was collected, what containers were used and more importantly what systems of recycling were being used in various places.

Fortunately no one questioned me as I poked my nose into other people’s rubbish.  In Temuka I saw a new product that had been specifically designed to meet the waste needs of the residents in that community. 

Temuka is part of the Timaru District Council and has a three wheelie bin collection in place.  One for  non-recyclable waste, one for recyclable waste and one for green waste.   In Temuka not all the residents had room for three separate bins and a new Ecocart was developed to help address this issue. 

The Ecocart is compact, serves as its own storage rack and has three compartments that can be labeled according to the needs of the community.  The wheels make it easy to move to and from the kerb.  The whole look is very neat and tidy. 

We have yet to read all the submissions for and against  kerbside collection, however once the community has been heard, I believe that a good system can be developed and other communities’ solutions may provide useful guidance. 

Remember to have your say and make your submission by 4pm on  7^th May.

Rotorua Businesses Get Together

 Business After Five is a Rotorua Chamber of Commerce initiative. It is a meeting for  business people and is held fortnightly at a variety of venues.  Tonight  was at Rainbow Springs and was hosted by “Stay and Play “ Rotorua.  Kay Clarke is the local director and many small to large businesses are members, including the Agrodome, Mamaku Blue Winery, Hakaworld,  Paradise Valley Horse Treks,  Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, Pure Cruise Luxury Yacht Charters  and  a few others.

Every fortnight local business people have the opportunity to get together and discuss issues of interest to them and others. There is a business card draw with  a selection of fabulous prizes to be won, food and refreshments are sponsored by the host or joint hosts.  New members and new business ventures are introduced to the group.

 I was glad the meeting was at  Rainbow Springs as I had the chance to see firsthand the new landscaping that they have recently completed. Stewart Brown, the General manager was justifiably proud of the redeveloped waterfall area that is now available to be used for weddings and other functions with catering available onsite.  Most of the development work was carried out by Rainbow Springs’ own staff.

I’m pleased to be able to attend these meetings and always enjoy the lively discussions I have with the people I meet there.  I was also pleased that recycling options for Rotorua were a popular topic of conversation.  Keep those submissions coming in!

Kerbside Recycling. Now or Never!

From now until 4pm on Friday 7th May, the Rotorua District Council is receiving submissions from the community on its Draft Annual Plan for the coming year.
 
The Waste Management and Minimisation Plan sits within the Annual Plan and in it, the Council’s preferred option is to enlarge the downtown recycling drop-off centre and open a smaller version in Ngongotaha.  I do not believe that this is the preferred option for the community.
 
In the current Draft Annual Plan, the Rotorua District Council does NOT plan to offer kerbside recycling, unless it is strongly supported by submissions from urban residents.
 
The Council has calculated that to enhance the drop-off centres (Option 4B) will cost each ratepayer an extra $14.66 per year.  Alternatively, to provide the most useful kerbside system (Option 3B) would cost each city ratepayer an extra $100.85 per year (that’s $1.94 per week).
 
If you want to have a say in this process, now is the time to do it!
 
Whether you do want kerbside collection or don’t want kerbside collection, I encourage you to make a submission to RDC before 7th May.  Doing nothing will support the “preferred option” of continuing with drop-off centres only.
 
If you want to see the full list of options, you can click here to see the Summary and Submission Form, but in a nutshell:
 
Support Option 3B if you want kerbside recycling using a provided Wheelie Bin, but keeping your glass separate in a plastic bag beside the bin.  Expect a rate increase of about $100 per year.  This is my preferred option.
 
Support Option 4B if you want to stay with drop-off centres for your recycling.  Expect to pay an extra $15 in your rates to enlarge the city centre and add another one at Ngongotaha.
 
You can make your submission online by filling out the online submission form or you make your submission by email to submissions@rdc.govt.nz – include your full name and address and the detail of what kind of service you’d like and why.  Also state whether you’d like to speak to the mayor and councillors about your submission.
 
I think we’re in for an interesting time with this.  Every one of you I’ve spoken to wants kerbside and wants it yesterday.  If you tell the Council today, you could make it happen!

Gorse: A Prickly Issue

On Sunday. I joined hundreds of other New Zealanders and went out to visit a local farm.  Federated Farmers organised a national day involving 22 farms with a wide variety of farming equipment on display and activities available.  Many families took this opportunity to let their kids run freely, doing what kids naturally do when they are let loose in a rural environment.

What caught my eye however, was the  Environment Bay of Plenty (EBOP) stand.   Why did it feature a huge gorse bush in full flower?  With improving lake water quality being one of the major environmental issues facing both local and regional councils, farmers are finding themselves increasingly under pressure to reduce their contribution to this problem.

One of the major issues facing farmers at this time is nutrient leaching out of the soil and into our lakes.  Many farmers have been working hard at fencing off waterways, riparian plantings and close management of fertilizer usage however the prickly issue of mature gorse now looks like being an additional burden for farmers.

It has long been acknowledged that gorse does contribute to nitrogen leaching from farms and into our waterways.  The size of this problem has not until recently been quantified.  EBOP have just published a report outlining the size of the gorse problem, making some recommendations about what has to happen next.

They have concluded that gorse around lake Rotorua contributes an annual burden of at least 50 kg of nitogen per hectare and that there are nearly 900 hectares of gorse in the lake Rotorua catchment - so that's close to a whopping 45 tonnes of nitrogen into our lake, just from gorse!  Recommended corrective measures include the removal of mature gorse and its replacement with low nitrate leaching planting such as pine forest.

I had a great time wandering over Neil Heather's farm and talking with the people I met there.  I learned a great deal and want to thank Neil, who is the Federated Farmers BOP local representative, for the opportunity.