16 August 2019

From Rotorua Daily Post:

My questions for the council are below:

1 - What are the positives that have come out of this decision for the Rotorua Lakes Council?

2 - What are the negatives?

3 - Does the council plan to appeal any parts of the decision?

4 - Federated Farmers has described it as "a win for the Rotorua community". What is your response to that?

5 - A statement from Federated Farmers' environmental spokesperson Chris Allen also said:

"If I was a Rotorua ratepayer, I would feel very aggrieved that I funded a costly alternative proposal that has not only been found wanting but, as the Court confirmed, would have had highly adverse social and economic effects on the Rotorua community."

Allen said Federated Farmers agrees LUC is one of the tools in the toolbox for on farm decision support.

"But we do not support its use to allocate nitrogen and consider that natural capital is about more than just soils."

6 - What is the Rotorua Lakes Council's response to these comments?

7 - How much has the Environment Court process cost the Rotorua Lakes Council? (If this cannot be answered today that's okay, we can note that in the story).

The following is for your understanding/information/clarity, not for quoting:

This is an interim decision - there are two parts to the appeal process and the Environment Court has made its interim decision following a Stage 1 hearing. The interim decision provides direction ahead of the Stage 2 hearing and a final decision.

The appeals process relates to BOP Regional Council's new nutrient management rules for the Lake Rotorua catchment (Plan Change 10).

The Court's ruling regarding the nitrogen allocation method (which is what the Federated Farmers release is about) is one part of the interim decision (noted as A on p2 of the Court decision document)

The second part of the decision (noted as B on P2 of the decision document) relates to matters that will be addressed in the Stage 2 hearing (see directions from the Court on p98 of the interim decision. So from that you'll note there is still work to be done before the second stage and a final decision.
Regarding cost: See LGOIMA HERE which refers to costs up to early February. Latest information cannot be collected and collated in the timeframe given to respond to this enquiry.
From Rotorua Lakes Council Chief Executive Geoff Williams:
"We are currently considering the direction the Court has given following the first stage of the appeals process. In our view the court has highlighted a number of issues we were concerned about and we are keen to work with the regional council as to how those can be addressed."
NOTE: See also HERE a media release from BOP Regional Council and HERE a release from Federated Farmers regarding the interim decision.

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Media: RotoruanNow (SunLive)
Topic: Election signage

The sign attached for RDRR apparently exceeds dimensions and its removal ordered. It sits the Old Taupo / Koutu corner. Can Peter Brownbridge be contacted for a comment, to verify this sign (and possibly others) has exceeded the sizes etc; and what are the max/min sizes for election signage?

From Rotorua Lakes Council's Operations Group Manager, Henry Weston:

The Election Sign Guidelines provide certainty for all candidates that there is a consistent set of rules for the display of election signs and also ensures public safety.

As the sign in question is in breach of these guidelines due to its size, it has been requested that it be removed along with any other signs that are the same size.

The Election Sign Guidelines state signs must not exceed 3m2.

The Election Sign Guidelines are available here.

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Media: NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)
Topic: Election signage

We have heard reports that the Rotorua Lakes Council has requested for a Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayer electoral billboard on the corner of Old Taupo Rd and Koutu Cnr to be taken down.

Are you able to confirm this? and if so, why have you requested this removal? and what rules has it breached?

From Rotorua Lakes Council's Operations Group Manager, Henry Weston:

The Election Sign Guidelines provide certainty for all candidates that there is a consistent set of rules for the display of election signs and also ensures public safety.

As the sign in question is in breach of these guidelines due to its size, it has been requested that it be removed along with any other signs that are the same size.

The Election Sign Guidelines state signs must not exceed 3m2.

The Election Sign Guidelines are available here.

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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Satisfaction Surveys

Reporter sought clarification regarding [previous enquiry and response - 15 August] about satisfaction surveys, why Council has changed how satisfaction is measured and the publication of these results.

Reporter also asked the following questions, additional to [15 August] enquiry:

-Can you please confirm the council is not using an external party to conduct the survey?

-What is the reason the council has decided to remove this form of survey and wait until October to share the findings? Especially given the controversy it caused during the last election?

-Does the council consider the information from the survey a valuable way for the public to be kept informed?

-Is taking away the previous model of surveying not seriously limiting the type of people who will be able to express their thoughts? Ontop of this, won't it be limiting what they will be surveyed on?

-How will the limitations be overcome?

-What were the results last year? Can I please have a list of this? It would be good to see some numbers as the annual report statements are quite vague.

Can you also please tell me which services are available for people to state their satisfaction?

Could I please have a copy of the satisfaction survey completed last year?

Clarifications provided:

There was a survey conducted last year [https://www.rotorualakescouncil.nz/our-council/news/Documents/NRB-Survey-2018-Full-Report.pdf]

A three-year contract is in place with an external company to provide satisfaction results under the new performance measures framework that was determined as part of our 2018-28 LTP. The cost of that three-year contract is $58,680.

The new way of doing things enables people to provide feedback, via an online survey, at the time they have used or experienced a survey.

Annual reports refer to financial years. This year's annual report will be for the 2018/19 financial year (so from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019). Data collected during that time will be what appears in this year's annual report.

Satisfaction measures are one variable used to determine whether a service is being provided at the right "level of service" and to identify areas for improvement.

A performance management framework is required by the Local Government Act to measure how well council is providing its services to the community. Many factors are used to measure this including time, quality, complaints, attendance and satisfaction. When the 2018-28 Long-term Plan was developed the whole performance management framework was updated and new measures and targets were created for council activities.

Further from Geoff Williams:

"We wanted feedback from the people actually using services. The old measures provided information about how people perceived services to be - so not necessarily their own experience - and the new survey method provides information about people's actual experience of a service.

"There are no limitations on the public's ability to provide feedback to council at any time. Residents can - and do - provide feedback in person, by calling the customer centre, via email or letter, via social media and during public consultations. Council is continually looking to improve and all of these interactions provide valuable feedback to help us.

"Councils are required to measure service levels and to report these in the annual report - this comes out in October and will be available to the public then. It will include satisfaction levels for services where these are used as a measure. The Annual Report is an important accountability document for Council and for the public.

"Last year's survey results were reported in last year's annual report, as required, and included comparisons of those measures to the previous two financial years. Areas focussed on in last year's survey differed from previous years to better align with key performance measures."

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Media: Stuff
Topic: Grading of restaurants

I'm hoping you can tell me which, if any, Rotorua restaurants have scored either a E or D grade on their inspections?

Rotorua Lakes Council does not issue grades to food outlets. Inspections are recorded as either a pass or fail.

More information can be found on our website here:

https://www.rotorualakescouncil.nz/our-services/permitsfoodliquorlicensing/food/Pages/default.aspx

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Media: Wairoa Star
Topic: Council flats

I am writing an article about council flats/accommodation for the Wairoa Star and was wanting to know how rental cost are determined by Rotorua City Council?

Is rent assessed by way of means testing tenants, or is the rental cost based on a percentage of market rent and if so what is that percentage?

The following information was provided:

Rents for Rotorua Lakes Council pensioner housing is based on no more than 30% of superannuation with annual CPI increases.

So not means tested or based on a percentage of market rent.