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Tasty Logan / Stuff
Bruce Robertson, independent governance expert, left, and independent evaluator Richard Thomson at Invercargill City Council before presenting a governance review report to councilors.
A representative from the Department of Home Affairs is pleased that the Invercargill City Council is taking steps to restore confidence in its ability to meet the Crown’s expectations.
DIA’s director of ministerial advisory monitoring and operations, Anita Balakrishnan, told Stuff that they had received the findings of an independent review of the council’s performance.
“The Invercargill City Council has conducted a comprehensive and independent review of its current standard of performance to identify the key issues that are impacting the council,” Balakrishnan said.
The review followed a letter from Balakrishnan to Invercargill Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt and CEO Clare Hadley in August, where he expressed concern about a “significant conflict” on the council.
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The Board recruited Bruce Robertson as an independent expert on governance and hired Richard Thomson as an independent evaluator.
The governance review of the findings was presented to councilors last Thursday, with the exception of councilors.
The findings of the review have not yet been made public.
Invercargill City Council has been working urgently to confirm an Action Plan to address governance issues, after the Mayor and Councilors unanimously accepted the findings of a review last Thursday night (November 12, 2020 ).
However, Balakrishnan said it was comprehensive and has identified the key issues that are impacting the council’s performance.
“The Department is pleased that the elected representatives of the council have accepted the findings of the independent review and are taking responsibility for improving the performance of the council,” he said.
The council was now in the process of developing a clear plan on how to identify the issues covered as part of the review.
The council has provided the DIA with an initial draft of the plan that the council intends to adopt at its December 15 meeting.
The council has asked the DIA to be part of a small governance group that will oversee the delivery of the plan and measure the improvement of the council’s performance.
Balakrishnan said it was not unusual for councils to experience problems in the governance and management of their community.
The council’s executive director, Clare Hadley, said the first step was to share the plan with the DIA, which happened this week, and they were now at a point where the council plans to share its intentions with the community early in the year. next week.
“We understand the strong interest of the community in the process and we are working on this process as quickly as possible.
“There is more work to be done on the details, however we look forward to sharing our intentions with everyone soon.”
