They approved $126,000 of unbudgeted expenditure yesterday to continue a trial aimed at deterring antisocial behaviour and enhancing safety.
The programme was described at an Otago Regional Council committee meeting as supplementing the work of police and the Dunedin City Council.
It started in December last year with security guards having a presence at the bus hub in Great King St during peak hours and was then expanded in March to provide targeted on-bus security.
A report for the meeting showed there had been a falling number of violent or antisocial incidents.
Cr Elliot Weir supported continuation of the trial, saying provision of security "shouldn’t be our job" but a safe environment instilled confidence.
Cr Lloyd McCall said it was imperative to continue with a successful trial.
The security issue was initially placed in the public-excluded part of the agenda, but minor amendments were made to remove commercially sensitive information, enabling the item to be heard in public, council chief executive Richard Saunders said.
Instigation of the trial was an operational decision by council staff and extension of it was put before councillors because of the funding situation.
"We wanted to flag the additional expenditure to governance, as the council has requested greater oversight of unbudgeted expenditure."
The situation "could have been" foreseen before adoption of the last annual plan, but "in this case it was not specifically included, which has resulted in the unbudgeted expenditure".
He was comfortable with how the situation was managed — a problem had been identified and the council worked with other agencies with an interest in safety in public spaces.
"The data to date shows this decision has supported a reduction in antisocial behaviour in the area."
Asked why the council had been secretive about the project until this week, Mr Saunders said "there has been no secrecy".
"We do not report on every initiative of the council that occurs around Otago.
"The security guards operate in public at the bus hub.
"Had anyone inquired earlier we would have happily shared information with them."
