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"Hot Councils" Awards

A new award was presented to NZ's best local authorities late last month. The Local Government Forum's "Hot Councils" Awards recognises excellence by local authorities in promoting growth through discipline in rating and expenditure, best practice resource management administration, and accountability through local democracy.

Each of NZ's 85 councils is given a score out of a maximum 75 points. Judging is based on criteria including rating and spending discipline, administration of the Resource Management Act, and local democracy (see checklist in box). The Local Government Forum, made up of business and farming groups, wants to ensure that urban and rural ratepayers get value for money from the rates they pay.

The Awards will be run every three years before local body elections, to aid ratepayers' voting decisions. Awards (winners and runners up) are made in four categories: Metropolitan Councils, Provincial Councils, Rural Councils and Regional Councils.

Tauranga is the top metropolitan council (54 points) and Taranaki won the regional council category (with 60 points). Tauranga came out on top because its rates revenue per head is significantly less than other metropolitan councils, but it also performed well against all criteria. Taranaki did not come top of any of the main categories (rating, spending, RMA administration and local democracy) but its solid performance across all of them put it ahead of all other regional councils.

Other top performers in the metropolitan and regional councils were: Hamilton (50), Northland (59), Waitakere (48), Bay of Plenty (58), Upper Hutt (48) Hawkes Bay (58), Lower Hutt (47), and Otago (57).

Along with topping the rural category, Westland had the highest score of any NZ council, earning 61 out of a maximum 75 points. South Waikato and Ashburton, the equal hottest provincial councils with 60 points, were both very strong performers across all four categories.

Other top performers in the provincial and rural categories were: Waimate (58), Horowhenua (57), Clutha (56), Franklin (56), Opotiki (56) Western Bay of Plenty (56), and South Wairarapa (56).

Hot Council Checklist Rating Discipline Rates revenue per capita 2003/04 Increase in rates revenue per capita 2003/04-2005/06 Rates as a percent of total revenue 2003/04 General rating differential for business/commercial ratepayers 2003/04 Level of Uniform Annual General Charge 2003/04 Spending Discipline Operating expenditure per capita 2003/04 Forecast growth in operating expenditure per capita 2003/04-2005/06 Operating revenue per capita 2003/04 Forecast growth in operating revenue per capita 2003/04-2005/06 Democracy Number of council members 2001-04 Turnout at 2001 election Type of voting system used for 2004 election Was the 2003/04 Annual Plan available to freely download from council website? RMA Performance Percent of resource consent applications notified 2001/02 Percent of notified land use consents processed in time 2001/02 Percent of non-notified land use consents processed in time 2001/02 Percent of consents where further information sought 2001/02 Do councils check applications for consistency within one day? Do councils formally receive application within one day? Do councils not reset the time limit clock to zero on receipt of further information? Did the council make its 2001/02 survey responses available to be audited by Audit NZ? If not, has the council made its earlier survey results available for audit?

Contact for Enquiries

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington

Tel: 0800 00 83 33
Fax: +64 4 894 0720
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