Official Information Request - Catering Cost
Sent: Tuesday, 1 November 2016 1:25 p.m.
Subject: TRIM: Request for information
I refer to your request of 4 October 2016 under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act for the cost of coffee, tea and biscuits for council meetings held during 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011, broken down into:
- the amount spent on coffee
- the amount spent on tea
- the amount spent on biscuits
- breakdown of types of biscuits
- breakdown of types of tea
- breakdown of types of coffee
- breakdown of types of catering (eg: council lunch, council dinner)
Your request would require council to use a significant amount of staff time to look back through our systems to identify these costs. Under the Act Council has the ability to charge for this staff time. Council’s normal approach is to charge (as per the Ministry of Justice Charging Guidelines) $38 per half hour in excess of one hour.
With regard to breaking this amount down to the individual cost for coffee, tea and biscuits, and a breakdown of the types of coffee, tea and biscuits, we do not keep a record of this information. This part of your request is therefore declined under the following section 17(e) of the Act “… the information requested does not exist or cannot be found”.
I have provided the available details of catering for the 2015 council meetings below. To provide this information for 2012-2014 would take approximately another 5 hours of staff time at a cost of $304 (5 hours x $38 per half hour = $380). You would need to agree to pay this amount before we would proceed with this part of the request.
2015 Council meetings
| Date | Catering Cost | Type of catering (ie: lunch/dinner) |
| Extraordinary meeting – 17 February | 144.00 | afternoon tea |
| Extraordinary meeting – 26 February | 332.00 | morning tea/lunch |
| Ordinary meeting – 5 March | 116.00 | supper |
| Ordinary meeting – 16 April | 108.00 | supper |
| Ordinary meeting – 28 May | 108.00 | supper |
| Ordinary meeting – LTP deliberations – 15 June | 652.00 | morning tea/lunch/afternoon tea |
| Ordinary meeting – LTP deliberations – 16 June | 556.00 | morning tea/lunch/afternoon tea |
| Ordinary meeting – LTP deliberations – 17 June | 628.00 | morning tea/lunch/afternoon tea |
| Ordinary meeting – LTP deliberations – 23 June | 634.00 | morning tea/lunch/afternoon tea |
| Ordinary meeting – 30 June | 117.50 | morning tea |
| Extraordinary meeting – 22 July | 470.00 | morning tea/lunch |
| Extraordinary meeting – 23 July | 138.00 | morning tea |
| Ordinary meeting – 20 August | 498.00 | supper |
| Extraordinary meeting – 26 August | 147.60 | morning tea |
| Ordinary meeting – 1 October | 704.00 | supper |
| Extraordinary meeting – 29 October | 462.00 | morning tea/lunch |
| Ordinary meeting – 12 November | 116.00 | supper |
| Ordinary meeting – 17 December | 98.00 | afternoon tea |
| Total 2015 | 6,029.10 |
We are obliged to advise that you may contact the Ombudsman at the address below if you have any concerns with the response provided by Council, by writing to:
The Office of the Ombudsman
PO Box 10 152
WELLINGTON 6143
Alternatively, you may email info@ombudsman.parliament.nz or use the online complaints form available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/make-a-complaint.
Regards Jean-Paul Gaston Group Manager, Strategy and Partnerships
P: 07 351 8302 | M: 0276554415
E: Jean-Paul.Gaston@rotorualc.nz | W: rotorualakescouncil.nz
A: 1061 Haupapa St, Private Bag 3029, Rotorua Mail Centre, Rotorua 3046, New Zealand
